Last season's Champions League winners Chelsea headline the four English clubs vying for a berth in the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday, as several high-profile names stare at the exit door
Chelsea go into the second leg of their tie with Sparta Prague at Stamford Bridge holding a 1-0 advantage thanks to Oscar’s late strike a week ago in the Czech capital.
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“We still have to concentrate to make sure we get the right result but we’re in a good position now so we have to follow it through,” said midfielder Frank Lampard. Despite the ignominy of becoming the first Champions League winners to bow out at the group stage, Lampard insisted more European success was still firmly on Chelsea’s radar. “If it’s hard (to focus on the Europa League after dropping out of the Champions League) then we’d better change that very quickly because we’re in this competition now so we have to get our attitude right. The Europa League is a fantastic competition to try and win, so that’s what we have to do,” he added.