Malo Gusto faces up to 'most difficult part of football' after Chelsea nightmare
Chelsea star Malo Gusto had a night to forget in the UEFA Conference League final but the right-back has spoken about his efforts to rebound from the huge setback
Malo Gusto says he will come back stronger after his European nightmare. The Chelsea defender was hooked at half time in the Conference League final against Real Betis after enduring a awful 45 minutes in Wroclaw.
Betis were leading at the break after Gusto's mistake but Chelsea substituted him and came back to win 4-1 and clinch a European trophy on top of qualifying for the Champions League. It was a bittersweet night for the France international but he says it can also be a good learning curve.
The 22-year-old said: 'The first half was complicated. I had good ideas but the reality was not good. That can happen. I just tried to switch off straight after the game before I went to the national team.
'Mentality is the most difficult part of football. Sometimes you have bad moments and it can be hard to do better straight after. The most important thing is to switch off.
'But in football we have many games and there's a chance after the bad game that you get another three days after so you have to try to avoid the bad moments, the bad feelings in your mind and just focus on after.'
Gusto, talking ahead of Chelsea's Club World Cup showdown with Flamengo on Friday, now wants to enjoy another big step in his career by playing in the Champions League. He added: 'Those were our objectives, to get top four, to be in the Champions League for the next season, to win the Conference League and we've done that.
'Now the most important thing is to play well in the Champions League, to show to people we deserve to be here. To come into Stamford Bridge and hear the Champions League music. It will be my first time to play this competition so I'm excited, proud.
'It's a big challenge but I think it's similar to the Premier League because every game is tough, maybe even more so in the Champions League but we are ready. We have many top players in the squad and now we just have to be ready for next season.'
Chelsea take on Flamengo looking to continue their perfect start to the Club World Cup. They won their opening group game 2-0 against Los Angeles FC, with Flamengo winning their own opener by the same margin against Esperance.
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