Willian defends Chelsea teammate after penalty miss against Valencia

Chelsea playmaker Willian has defended teammate Ross Barkley following the penalty miss during the 1-0 Champions League defeat to Valencia on Tuesday night. The west London outfit had the opportunity to share the spoils during the competition’s opener against Los Che but the chance was squandered after Barkley only managed to rattle the woodwork with his spotkick.

Speaking after the game, Willian acknowledged that anyone could have missed the penalty kick and it happened to be Barkley on the night, he told Goal: “He was confident about taking it and I asked to take it too. But he was confident. He ended up missing it. That could happen to me or any other player, like Jorginho who also takes the penalties. It is important he keeps his head up. When you win, you win together and when you lose, you lose together too.”

The Blues had the better possession of the ball against Los Che but they could not break the deadlock early. Ultimately, Rodrigo pounced on the opportunity to score for the Spanish outfit in the 74th minute and they managed to hold onto the advantage after Barkley squandered the chance to equalise from the spot before stoppage time.

With the result, the Blues find themselves three points behind Ajax and Valencia in their Champions group after the former beat Lille by a comfortable 3-0 score. Their next European outing comes against Lille on the road and manager Frank Lampard will be hoping for maximum points, considering the French side are probably the weaker team in the group of death.

Chelsea’s immediate focus will shift to the Premier League where they are scheduled to host Liverpool at Stamford Bridge. The Blues gave the Reds plenty to think about during the European Super Cup last month where they lost through a penalty shootout and the game promises another exciting contest with goals very much guaranteed.