UCL: Can crisis-hit Chelsea repeat the trick against Real Madrid?

The quarter-final draws of the UEFA Champions League (UCL) were held in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday with a well-balanced line-up of matches.

Villarreal and Benfica, the two remaining outsiders, were drawn against powerhouses Bayern Munich and Liverpool respectively. Atletico Madrid will continue their Manchester sojourn at City, as Diego Simeone’s rejuvenated men will attempt the herculean task of eliminating Pep Guardiola’s well-oiled side and bookies’ favourites for a first-ever UCL title triumph.

Perhaps the pick of the bunch is the clash between Chelsea, UCL defending champions, against Real Madrid, 13-time winners. The leading Spanish La Liga side is not only the UCL record holders, they also won the ‘Big Ears’ trophy in three consecutive seasons between 2016 and 2018. Chelsea is not a team to be brushed aside though, the London side has won three major trophies since Thomas Tuchel took over in January 2021 and has claimed the World Club Cup in 2022.

Chelsea are, however, going through difficult times following various sanctions against Roman Abramovich, the club owner. The club is restricted from selling tickets and could miss the vociferous full stadium that saw them overcome an unfit, injury-ravaged Real Madrid at the semi-finals stage last season in a 3-1 aggregate victory.

This begs the question of whether the Stamford Bridge side can repeat the trick this season as they look to become the 3rd side to retain the UCL title.

Kai Havertz is a leading light in attack despite the troubles of Romelu Lukaku and Timo Werner, and key players in the wingback positions ravaged by injury. Despite the presence of Anthony Rudiger and vastly-experienced Thiago Silva in central defence, Chelsea’s midfield is quite unpredictable in recent times with injury taking its toll on N’Golo Kante while Jorginho has recently become an error-strewn player.

This is in stark contrast to high-flying Real Madrid who lead La Liga by 10 points and the return of Carlo Ancelotti as coach in the summer helping Vinicius Jr., once a laughing stock, become one of the best wingers in Europe this season. The 21-year-old’s understanding with free-scoring Karim Benzema has also been top-notch so far, both providing a combined 49 goals and 27 assists in all competitions. Both players lead the La Liga scorers’ list while Benzema is the third-highest goalscorer in the UCL with eight goals. Behind this deadly duo is an experienced midfield that has looked fitter this season compared to their sluggish performance in the two-legged encounter last season.

While both sides can claim to have the two on-form goalkeepers in Europe this season, it remains to be seen who will make it to the final four where Manchester City or Atletico Madrid awaits the winner. Perhaps Real Madrid hosting the second leg and Chelsea not likely to have much-needed fans’ support due to sanctions could swing the outcome in favour of the La Liga champions-in-waiting.