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EPL midfielder Ross Barkley has expressed his frustration on the season being suspended following the COVID-19 outbreak, ruing over the fact that his run with Chelsea was halted.
The 26-year-old also spoke about how he adapted to the nationwide lockdown, besides commenting on the absence of fans from the stadium.
The EPL was suspended in March for an indefinite period due to the coronavirus pandemic, leaving football fans hugely dissapointed. Following measures taken by the government, the EPL has finally returned after over 100 days.
It all started with Aston Villa and Sheffield United sharing the spoils, before Manchester City wreaked havoc on an out-of-sorts Arsenal outfit in what was EPL's blockbuster starting fixture.
"It's been a weird period," says EPL star Ross Barkley
Chelsea take on Dean Smith's Villa on June 21, Sunday, at Villa Park as they aim to retain their place in the EPL top 4. As of now, they are where they want to be, but it has been a rocky ride for Frank Lampard and co. in the EPL due to defensive issues and injury setbacks.
Barkley himself, was coming off the back of two of his best performances of the season. He steered the Blues to the FA Cup quarter-final with a sizzling solo effort against Liverpool, after which his side thrashed Everton in the EPL by 4-0.
In that EPL game, Barkley completed 98% of his passes successfully, assited two of the goals and completed a massive seven take-ons.
The EPL shutdown couldn't have come at a worse time for him, as he quoted:
"It was frustrating because I was in good form. I was getting a decent run in the side and things were going well, for the team as well because we were getting the results that we needed and we were kicking on."
Barkley further mentioned how since joining EPL giants Chelsea, he never had time to spend at home. This lockdown allowed him to do so, but now he is back and raring to go. Barkley continued:
"I was doing training related to the way I play in games so it was a lot of strength work, fitness, plenty of ball work. When we came back, I felt good and fit. I’m made up that we’re back now and returning to a bit of normality."
The England international admitted it's always good to switch off from the EPL as a breather, but added that it was a weird phase for someone who is busy training and watching games on a regular basis. He explained:
"It’s been a weird period because there’s always usually games on the TV so not being able to watch any sport at all was a killer really. Now that football is back, it’s a great feeling inside because it’s what we love to do."
He believes that football is played for its fans, and claimed that he did not like playing for England versus Croatia in an empty stadium once. The EPL midfielder concluded:
"For me, I didn’t like it. Obviously I enjoyed playing the game because it was England and it was such a big fixture but with no fans and no atmosphere, it was strange. You play the game because of the fans."
In a Chelsea midfield that sees the return of Ruben Loftus-Cheek and N'Golo Kante, Barkley will have to see off competition once again to nail down a spot in the regular EPL starting XI. With the entire squad fit, it'll be interesting to see what line-up Frank Lampard plots ahead of their EPL restart.
