Josh Acheampong has described Benfica as a “really big club” ahead of Chelsea’s Club World Cup round of 16 clash against the Portuguese side.
Acheampong started the Blues’ 3-0 victory over ES Tunis on Tuesday night, with Tosin Adarabioyo, Delap and Tyrique George getting on the scoresheet. It means Chelsea will face Benfica in the round of 16 in Charlotte on Saturday.
Benfica topped their group, which included Bayern Munich, and Acheampong is hoping to play another starring role, with the teenager playing the full match at right-back on Tuesday. The academy graduate told Chelsea’s official website: “Benfica are a really big club, but every game in this competition is hard.
“So while we need to focus on the opponent, the most important thing is that we focus on ourselves. It [the tournament] is really exciting. We’re into the knockouts now and every single game is important. We just have to keep winning.”
Acheampong, who did not start Chelsea’s opening two matches of the Club World Cup, finished the game against Tunis in central midfield, showing his qualities under Enzo Maresca. After making 13 appearances for the senior team this season, the 19-year-old is hoping to make more of an impact under the Italian in the coming months.
“It’s important the manager has faith in me,’ Acheampong said. “It means I get to play – and I’m very happy to have played [against ES Tunis].”
Maresca, who made eight changes for the game against Tunis, was pleased with the performance of his side after their loss to Flamengo in their previous game.
The Italian said: “It was important to bounce back and win. Now we can start to think about the next one. It was very important to be patient and then when we found the goal it became a bit more open.
“We are happy for all the players, especially for the ones who have gone a long time without minutes. From 32 teams now we are in the last 16. Hopefully we can go to the last eight.”
