Joao Felix is determined to make up for lost time after the “stupid” red card which wrecked the start to his Chelsea career.
Portugal superstar Felix suffered a nightmare when he saw red for an X-rated challenge on Fulham’s Kenny Tete on his Premier League debut at Craven Cottage in January. Felix, 23, who is on loan from Atletico Madrid for the rest of the season, was forced to sit out three games but has since shown he is a world class talent and can play a huge role for Chelsea.
They will need his quality to overcome Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their Champions League last 16 tie and the playmaker wants to prove his worth.
Felix said: “It’s not normal for me to get a red card. It was just the second of my career. It was a stupid red card. We were playing good, I was playing good in that game.
“I was loving playing in the team and unfortunately the referee showed me the red card. I was not expecting it, but it’s football, it happens and it’s just the worst because it was my debut.
“But after that, the team was a real team, they were with me and supported me and they made it easy to live with that because my teammates and everyone on the club was with me so it was easy to live with that.
“I’m here to play my football, to help the team, to help the club, to try to win trophies with the club. I just fight to win trophies, play for my team. I’m on loan but at the time I’m here, I want to help, I want to play, I want to score, I want to win and that’s why I am here.”
Felix is clearly a world class talent - Chelsea had to pay a £9.7m loan fee to get him - but it also means that he is also a sought-after talent.
Chelsea beat off competition from Arsenal and Manchester United in January and there will be no shortage of takers if Atletico Madrid decide to sell. Felix hinted he would like to stay as he is “loving” his time at Stamford Bridge.
But Felix warned that it would be “important” in making a decision on his future for any potential club to be in the Champions League with Chelsea looking unlikely for the top four and their only realistic hope of getting back in would be to win the trophy.
Felix said: “It’s a competition that everyone wants to play. But now I’m focused on this Champions League, and tomorrow's game. We have a lot of games yet to try to reach the Champions League in the League. It’s not over.
“But yeah, playing in the Champions League is an important decision but the future no one knows, so let’s see what happens and then we’ll see.
“It’s a different kind of football. The league is different. The way the teams play in La Liga and Premier League is totally different. I felt that in the first game.
“Chelsea is a team who likes to attack, who likes to have the ball, who likes to dominate the game, so that’s the game I like to play. I feel very free to play here, to play as I like. I’m loving it.”
Felix also insists that Chelsea will not feel any pressure against Borussia Dortmund even with the Germans on a ten game winning run.
He added: “Zero pressure. I think this is our job, we just have to enjoy, win the games and ensure our levels of confidence and attention are right because we have to win. But we will enjoy it and if we do things right we will win.
”I really want to win the game tomorrow, I love playing in the Champions League, everyone loves the Champions League, it's a special competition and let's hope after 90 minutes we are here to celebrate."
