Former West Ham shot-stopper Shaka Hislop feels that Chelsea are as good as anybody in Europe at the moment, but stressed that their success in the Europa League will be determined by the opposition that drop down from the Champions League.
Chelsea will begin their Europa League campaign against PAOK Salonika in Thessaloniki on Thursday night as they aim to make the most out of their involvement in the competition.
The Blues have endured a stellar start to the season and have won all five of their league games so far this season in an inspired run under Maurizio Sarri, who took over in the summer.
Eden Hazard in particular has been the star man at Chelsea and his hat-trick against Cardiff City on Saturday proved to be the ideal testament to his abilities with a ball at his feet.
Hislop, who was a star man in the Premier League during his playing career, has admitted that Sarri’s men are as good as anyone in Europe based on their current form.
However, the former West Ham and Newcastle United custodian insisted that their chances of winning the Europa League could well come down to how the competition looks in January when teams from the Champions League drop down after the group stages.
“From what we’ve seen, yes [Chelsea can breeze through the Europa League]”, Hislop said on ESPN FC.
“Now, you ask me this question after the Community Shield, where they were made to look very ordinary by Manchester City, you say that Sarri has got a lot of work to do.
“And you’re not quite sure how long it is going to take for him to get this Chelsea back firing.
“But a good start to the season, you’ve got Eden Hazard playing with as much confidence as we have seen him for the last couple of seasons and in this mood he is arguably the biggest game changer in the Premier League.
“This is still despite the disappointments of last season. This is still very much a team that won the league two seasons ago.
“Sarri has this team playing with confidence, enjoying their football again. They are as good as anybody or just about as good as anybody in European football.
“This Europa League in this mood should be easy for Chelsea, again that comes with the caveat we’re not quite sure what this competition looks like come January and February”, he added.
Chelsea have rested Hazard ahead of the trip to PAOK as Sarri aims to rotate his squad efficiently with one eye on the London derby against West Ham on Sunday.
