Chelsea’s Willian in action with Huddersfield Town’s Terence Kongolo. (Source: Reuters)
Willian, who had gone on record to say that he had difficulty working with previous Chelsea manager Antonio Conte, said that there was no chance he would still be playing for the Blues if the Italian had not left.
Speaking after Chelsea’s Premier League season-opening match against Huddersfield Town, Willian said, “I’m here. I’m here because I want to play for Chelsea. I will only leave if Chelsea want me to go.”
However, when asked if his answer would have been the same if Conte remained manager, Willian said, “No chance. No chance. No.” There had been speculation throughout the summer break with the 30-year old being heavily linked to Manchester United as well as Barcelona.
The new manager Maurizio Sarri gave Willian a chance to start the first game on Saturday and the winger responded by creating the opening goal for N’Golo Kante with a cross from the left wing. “We are just in the beginning,” he said. “We know we have to improve. Jorginho has played very well. He has a lot of quality and helps our play build up from the back. I think we played very well.”
“Now we have to continue like that because next week, we have a great game to play against Arsenal [on Saturday] and we want to win again. Now we have a different profile of football, a different way to play football,” Willian said. “The manager tells us to play, to enjoy ourselves on the pitch — with responsibility. Now I think we have a different style to play and that’s why we can create problems for Arsenal.”
“We have a lot of players with quality up front, players like Eden and Pedro. Players like that want to play football, no? That’s why Sarri talked about ‘fun’ football because he wants to build from the back. This is what we will try to do this season,” he added.