Real Madrid vs Chelsea
Nobody saw it coming. Real Madrid won so comprehensively at Stamford Bridge to all but seal the tie. Chelsea need to mount a humongous comeback to achieve the almost impossible.
Los Blancos had an incredible start, led by their main man Karim Benzema. The French striker scored two world-class headers to put the away side in control. However, Benzema was not finished. In the second half, he punished a mistake by Edouard Mendy to seal his hat-trick. Carlo Ancelotti’s side flawlessly executed their game plan.
🔛 ¡Domingo de trabajo! pic.twitter.com/RFEZUKxsde
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadrid) April 10, 2022
Madrid picked up another win over the weekend against Getafe to stay on track for the league title. Benzema and Vinicius Jr. are the two great hopes for the side who also have an excellent goalkeeper in form. Playing in front of their home crowd, Madrid will be hoping to avoid any slipups and pick up the result.
It has been a restless few weeks for Chelsea. The protests against the Ricketts family continue. They were hammered 4-1 by Brentford at home in one of the shocks of the season.
Madrid piled on the misery in a game where their famed defence looked even more out of form. Those results sowed the seeds of anger that were unleashed on Southampton who were hit for six.
Watch Thomas Tuchel and Mateo Kovacic look ahead to tomorrow night's #UCL clash with Real Madrid! 🎙 https://t.co/SX5EvWXEnE
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) April 11, 2022
Kai Havertz is their most in-form danger. The German has been excellent in finding spaces and troubling the opponents. N’Golo Kante and Jorginho need to provide better protection for their backline. Thomas Tuchel will be wary of not conceding any more. Chelsea will need at least three goals to overturn the scoreline against Real Madrid.
Team news
Ferland Mendy is still an injury doubt for the game, having also missed the game on Sunday. Eden Hazard and Isco are the other absentees. Ancelotti should stick to the same lineup as last week.
PROBABLE LINE-UP: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Nacho, Alaba; Kroos, Casemiro, Modric; Vinicius Jr, Benzema, Asensio
Chelsea have a few more players missing. Cesar Azpilicueta has COVID and will sit out. Ben Chilwell and Callum Hudson-Odoi are dealing with more long-term issues. Romelu Lukaku’s involvement remains up in the air.
PROBABLE LINE-UP: Mendy; Silva, Rudiger, Christensen; James, Kante, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso; Mount; Havertz
Gamechangers
Havertz has been doing well since being played in his natural position. Tuchel now uses him as a pure number 9 who can also drift in-between spaces.
Havertz is proving equally adept with both his head and feet. Madrid’s defence can be breached, and Havertz’s intelligence will hold the key. The German has shown already with a clever header that he can match up in the air.
No Chelsea player has scored more goals across all competitions this season than Kai Havertz (12).
No centre-forward needed. 🤝 pic.twitter.com/grGTvkSjib
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) April 6, 2022
Tuchel will want Havertz to exploit the spaces between the center-backs. Moreover, Havertz can also drift wide and pick up the ball which allows Chelsea to fill the penalty box with players. Therefore, the whole repertoire of Havertz will have to be on show. They can target Nacho Fernandez or even David Alaba so the wingbacks can provide support.
There are few better strikers in the world on current form than Benzema. The ace hitman has been on fire this season, scoring 11 times in the Champions League. His back-to-back hat tricks should see consecutive progressions.
Madrid are heavily reliant on Benzema, given they do not have another top-class replacement. He has been predatory throughout his career which has helped him score so many goals.
🇫🇷 34-year-old forward Karim Benzema has scored 37 goals in 36 appearances in all competitions this season 🤯#UCL pic.twitter.com/bY5ZJzjlZs
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 6, 2022
Chelsea will need to be extra wary of Benzema this time around. He is an expert in manipulating spaces, taking long-range shots with ease along with linking up play. Moreover, Edouard Mendy will need to be careful in his decision-making since Benzema loves pressurizing goalkeepers. If he gets on the scoresheet, the tie could all be over.
Predictions
Tuchel frankly admitted that Chelsea had “no” chance of turning things around against Real Madrid. However, things will not be so lopsided once again by the law of the land. FootTheBall predicts a 2-1 win for the home side.
