We need to play as in the opening game, Stoch says
17.4.2019, Klub
Slovak midfielder Miroslav Stoch returns to Stamford Bridge after ten years, this time to fight for Slavia.
Slavia are in London preparing for the UEFA Europa League quarter-final against Chelsea. After a 0-1 narrow defeat in Prague the red-whites need to score at least twice in London. “We need to score if we want to qualify,” says ex-Chelsea midfielder Miroslav Stoch who returns to Stamford Bridge after almost 10 years.“It’s great to be here again but I hope it will be even better feeling tomorrow. The stadium looks the same as ten years ago. I was thinking how many people still work here and I was quite surprised. I didn’t have a chance to talk to them this time, but we spoke a lot after the opening game in Prague. It was a nice talk, mostly about the game. They admitted we surprised them and recognized our strength,” Stoch said.
Can Slavia benefit from their good performance in the first leg? “We make maximum to qualify for the next stage. And we put everything into our effort. The opening game showed many good things and we confirmed, that we can play with clubs such as Chelsea. It will be harder this time because we play away, but we still can surprise them.”
Is there a bigger motivation for Miroslav Stoch because of his Chelsea past? “We don’t need to look for any special motivation. Me or anyone else. The motivation is big, but we can’t be over-motivated on the other hand. We must try our best and we’ll see.”
And what will be the key for winning the game on Thursday? “It will be all about the first goal. If we can think of qualification or a good result, we need to score. And if we will do so, it can be a fantastic game,” Stoch concluded.
