"In the Champions League, English teams are huge favourites"

"We have to go out and play for the maximum prize, but bearing in mind that in this competition there are ten teams fighting for the trophy and have more or less the same strength", Sarri affirmed during the pre-match press conference for tomorrow's game against Bayer Leverkusen.

"For a player or manager, the Champions League is the 'top'. You have to enjoy playing in it, think that you're coming up against the best teams in Europe and experience it with joy. I don't want to put pressure on the players", Sarri continued, who's team are in a group with Atlético, Bayer Leverkusen and Lokomotiv Moscow.

Sarri thinks that "at the moment it is difficult for an Italian team to be huge favourites to win the Champions League" and that "the huge favourites are the English team" for obvious reasons, referring to the huge economic power they have.

The ex Napoli and Celtic manager also warned of Bayer Leverkusen's level, who are joint 2nd in the Bundesliga with 4 other teams, and one point behind Bayern Munich. He also highlighted that they can't think about Sunday's league match against Inter Milan.

"A person who is clear about Bayer Leverkusen's level can't think about the Inter game. They are 1 point behind Bayern and have the best stats physical stats in the Bundesliga. To think beyond this Wednesday would be a resounding mistake.