Willian admits Chelsea disappointment at Champions League finish but says focus is now on Manchester City

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Vaishali Bhardwaj6 December 2017

Willian admits the Chelsea players are not happy with finishing runners-up in their Champions League group but urged his teammates to turn their attention to the Premier League title race.

Chelsea came into their final Group C Champions League game against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday night knowing that a win at Stamford Bridge, or Roma failing to beat Qarabag, would see them secure top spot in the standings.

But Antonio Conte's side could only secure a comeback 1-1 draw against Atletico, which saw Chelsea finish in second place in their group because of Roma's 1-0 win at home to Qarabag.

And Willian, who missed a glorious chance to score a late winner after coming on as a second-half substitute, admitted the Chelsea players were unhappy at not beating Atletico but insisted the team must now focus on trying to catch runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City.

"No, we are not happy," he said. "We wanted to finish first. We tried to create some chances in the second half.

"We have this really good team, a strong team. Our desire was to finish first.

"We are now second, it's OK, so let's think about the Premier League and the Cups."

In Pictures | Champions League gameweek 6 | 2017-18

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Chelsea will now face a group winner in the Champions League round of 16, which could mean a clash with Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain or Besiktas.

But Willian isn't scared of who Chelsea could be drawn to play in the next round of Europe's elite competition, adding: "We are Chelsea, we are a big team like them.

"We don't have a choice. We have to play against the big teams if we want to be the champions."