Juan Mata

Juan Mata wants to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time

Chelsea star Juan Mata wants to make progress in the Champions League after suffering elimination in the first knockout stage last year with Valencia.

The Spaniard, who has a World Cup winners medal, has never played in the quarter finals of the competition and it is a competition he wants to do well in.

“Last year we (Valencia) qualified for the last 16, but played against Schalke and we lost, they went to the semi-finals, so I’ve never played in the quarter-finals, and that’s our next objective now,” Mata told the club’s official website

“The Champions League is so important for this club and we have been given a very difficult game against Napoli.

“Both tournaments, the World Cup and the Champions League, were a dream for me when I was younger.

“They are the most important trophies you can win, and now at Chelsea we have the possibility to win the Champions League.

“A few years ago Chelsea was in the final, with penalties, and had no luck. I watched it on TV, it was just a lottery and the team was unlucky, but now we want to repeat that journey to the final.”

Mata knows that the game in Naples tonight will be a tough test for his underperforming side, who have not won in their last four games.

“The atmosphere for sure will be hard for us, it is a famous stadium, with famous supporters and Napoli have very good players, their strikers and wingers are so fast they can hurt you easily,” he added.

‘If we can score it will be very important. In a knockout tournament like this with two legs, the away goal is so important and so we will try to do that against Napoli on Tuesday.’