As Chelsea prepare for their Club World Cup last-16 tie against Portuguese giants Benfica, opposition manager Bruno Lage has taken a moment to heap praise on two standout Blues stars — Enzo Fernandez and Pedro Neto.

Despite Benfica’s strong run so far — with convincing wins over Auckland City and a dramatic upset against Bayern Munich — Lage knows that his side enters the clash in North Carolina as clear underdogs. But the former Wolves boss is no stranger to big games and big talents, and he made his admiration for Chelsea’s quality abundantly clear in his pre-match press conference.

“In terms of money, Chelsea have one of the best midfielders in the world,” Lage said of Enzo Fernandez, who is set to face his former club in a high-stakes reunion. Fernandez has been enjoying a resurgent spell at Chelsea, gradually shaking off the early pressure that came with his high-profile move.

Over the past six months, the Argentine has started to live up to the expectations that followed his World Cup-winning breakout.

Interestingly, Lage revealed there was once a chance that Enzo might have ended up at Wolves instead of Stamford Bridge.

“There was actually a rumour before Enzo came to Chelsea that he was going to join me at Wolves, so that was funny,” he said, smiling at the memory.

But it’s not just Fernandez who will be on Lage’s radar. One of Chelsea’s most electric performers of the tournament so far has been Pedro Neto, who seems to have hit his stride on the global stage. The winger, also a Portuguese international like Lage, has been instrumental in Chelsea’s attacking play.
“The player I really know is Pedro Neto,” Lage added.

“He’s one of the best wingers in the world. He’s so dangerous because he can go either way on the ball.”