Asked which team Chelsea prefers to play when the UEFA Champions League round of 16 draw happens on Monday, coach Jose Mourinho likened the choice to “swimming with sharks.” AsGroup G winner and an English club (teams from the same league cannot be drawn together in the round of 16), Chelsea has five possible opponents: France’s Paris-Saint-Germain, Italy’sJuventus, Switzerland’s Basel, Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen and the Ukraine’s Shakhtar Donetsk. According to Mourinho, there is no easy option.
“I think Paris would be goodbecause it is easy to travel for us and the fans,” the Portuguese said, speaking after his team closed out group play with a 3-1 win at home to Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday. “But we can’tdecide.” He continued: “Everyone is hard. You think Basel is easy? We lost twice to them last year and they beat Liverpool this season and Manchester United a few years ago.Leverkusen is a German team, Shakhtar? I don’t think there is an easy team at this moment.”