Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas believes his team are ready to challenge European champions Barcelona this season, even though he accepts his former club have more attacking firepower than any of their rivals.
Fabregas, 28, helped Chelsea win the Premier League and Capital One Cup in his first season at Stamford Bridge after moving from Barcelona for around £25 million last summer.
However, after he left, Barca won a Treble of La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies and, ahead of the Blues' preseason game against his former side in Washington on Wednesday, Fabregas claimed that Chelsea can improve their Champions League efforts this season.
"I think they are the best team in the world, especially when the front three are on form," Fabregas told the Evening Standard. "I don't remember a front three in [Lionel] Messi, [Luis] Suarez and Neymar as powerful and talented since I was born. Obviously, they are a threat to everybody in the Champions League again this season.
"Barcelona have the best strike force in the world and against that you have to play as a unit, you have to play very well. But there are no doubts that we can compete against anyone.
"We have players like [Eden] Hazard, Oscar, [Diego] Costa and Willian who play in the attacking positions and for sure we have a great team. We showed that last season by winning the League and the Capital One Cup and we want to show it again. If we want to win Champions Leagues, we have to compete against the best. We will have to do well."
While it was still a successful season for Chelsea, Fabregas admitted their Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain in the last-16 put a dent in their domestic achievements.
"I always say that the Champions League was the one disappointment from last season," he continued. "I gave the team a seven or an eight [out of 10] for the year, but to complete a top season we needed to do better in Europe.
"Unfortunately we went out in the last-16 on away goals. We didn't actually lose the game, but we do have to play better in the Champions League this season."