Chelsea star Oscar believes the Blues’ campaign will be greatly boosted if they can be successful in the Europa League.
The European champions find themselves in the second-tier tournament after being knocked out of their Champions League group consisting of Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Nordsjaelland.
Chelsea face Sparta Prague on Thursday night and Oscar is looking forward to the clash, noting it offers a good opportunity to pick up silverware.
He told the club’s official website: “I’m very happy to play in the Europa League for the first time, and I hope we can do really well in the competition.
“The game against Sparta Prague will be tough, but it will be good for us if we can win the competition as it will help improve our season.
“I feel extremely motivated to compete in the Europa League and I’m sure all the other players are as well, and if we do well in the tournament it will make our season so much better.”
The Brazilian, who scored twice against both Juve and Shakhtar during the group stage, feels playing in European competition is often tougher than domestic football.
Oscar added: “Sometimes it can be more difficult to play in Europe, as you are playing against the very best players, but I like the big games.
“I did well in the Champions League and hopefully I’m doing well in the Premier League, but for now my focus is on helping the team in the Europa League against Sparta Prague.
“They’ve had a lot of time to prepare for the game and they will be aware of what we are capable of, but we are in the middle of our season and we will be ready to put in a strong performance.”
Source: CFC
