Kalidou Koulibaly, the Chelsea defender, is confident that interim boss Frank Lampard is the right person to lead the club out of their current difficult situation. The Blues are 11th in the Premier League and face Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. Koulibaly said that the team is aiming to “reach something big this year”. Lampard, who was a legendary player for Chelsea, has been the manager since 2019 and Koulibaly believes that his experience and knowledge of the team will help them out of their current predicament.
The recent dismissal of former Brighton boss Potter has left many wondering if he will soon return to a big job. Koulibaly, who joined Chelsea from Napoli last summer, said that Potter was a “nice manager” and “nice person” who helped him a lot when he first arrived at the club. He added that he feels sorry for Potter but understands that it is part of the job.
Koulibaly recently spent an evening at his local mosque to speak with those attending an Open Iftar at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea have three other Muslim players in their first team – Wesley Fofana, N’Golo Kante and Hakim Ziyech – and Koulibaly said that they “speak about Islam together” as it is “everything” to him. The four players are currently observing Ramadan, including fasting during daylight hours, and their Premier League match against Liverpool was paused last week so Muslim players in action could re-energise. Koulibaly said that it was “amazing” for the matches to pause for Muslim players and praised the club for their support.
Last week, Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku said “history repeats itself” after he was racially abused by Juventus fans in their Coppa Italia meeting. Koulibaly, who suffered racist abuse on a number of occasions from supporters during his time at Napoli, said that he doesn’t know why it keeps happening but expressed his support for Lukaku. He added that he was happy with Lukaku’s response and praised him for expressing his feelings in the moment.
Koulibaly will face Karim Benzema when Chelsea visit Real Madrid next in the Champions League. The French striker has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season, including two hat-tricks in his last three games. Koulibaly said that Benzema is “the best striker in the world” and that it will be a tough game, but he believes that Chelsea can pass the test. He added that Benzema is a good example for Muslim people as he can observe Ramadan, score goals and still be productive.
Kalidou Koulibaly is confident that interim boss Frank Lampard can guide Chelsea out of their current difficult situation. The Senegal captain said that Lampard has been saying he will support them until the end and help them to be out of this situation. Koulibaly also spoke about former Brighton boss Potter, saying he was a “nice manager” and “nice person” who helped him a lot when he first came to Chelsea. He added that he feels sorry for Potter but understands that it is part of the job.
Koulibaly recently spent an evening at his local mosque to speak with those attending an Open Iftar at Stamford Bridge. He said that it was “amazing” for matches to pause for Muslim players so they could re-energise and praised the club for their support. He also expressed his support for Romelu Lukaku after he was racially abused by Juventus fans and praised him for expressing his feelings in the moment.
When Chelsea visit Real Madrid next in the Champions League, Koulibaly will face Karim Benzema who has scored 26 goals in all competitions this season. Koulibaly said that Benzema is “the best striker in the world” and believes that Chelsea can pass the test. He added that Benzema is a good example for Muslim people as he can observe Ramadan, score goals and still be productive.