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Defending champions Chelsea will take on 13-time Champions League winners Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the premier European competition. The two heavyweights have fought hard to reach thus far and will fight harder to make it to the semi-finals. Sparks are guaranteed to fly in the first leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
The two teams locked horns in the Champions League last season as well, albeit in the semi-final stage. Thomas Tuchel’s men outclassed and outsmarted Zinedine Zinedine’s Real Madrid on all fronts, securing a 3-1 win on aggregate. The Blues will look to replicate their last season’s result, but with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, Los Blancos will be determined to do better.
Both Chelsea and Real Madrid are filled to the brim with high-quality players, thus promising excellent battles all over the pitch. We will take a look at some of the battles that may ensue and could determine the outcome of Wednesday's match. Now, without further ado, let’s get to it.
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#5 Casemiro vs N’Golo Kante
Casemiro and N’Golo Kante are the backbones of their respective teams. Without Casemiro sitting at the base of their midfield, Real Madrid look all over the place. Their defense is routinely exposed and Toni Kroos is forced to drop into a deeper position, which hinders his natural game. To play their best game against the Premier League giants, Madrid need their Brazilian defensive midfielder, and they need him at his best.
Casemiro’s counterpart N’Golo Kante is just as instrumental to the Chelsea team. The Frenchman can play as a defensive shield, dictate the tempo as a central midfielder, and even excel in a box-to-box role. The former Leicester City man also thrives on either the left side of the pitch or the right, presenting his coach Tuchel with a plethora of options.
Both Casemiro and Kante love to be in the thick of things, meaning we are almost guaranteed to see those two butt heads on Wednesday night.
The outcome of that particular tussle could have a significant impact on the result of the mouthwatering Champions League tie.
#4 Mason Mount vs Luka Modric
In the Champions League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge last season, Chelsea’s young midfield ran circles around the Real Madrid trio of Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro.
Modric, who generally acts as the ball carrier for the Whites, endured a particularly difficult night, with Madrid losing the game by a 2-0 margin. The Blues’ poster boy Mason Mount’s relentless pressing practically forced the veteran midfielder into submission.
On Wednesday night, Modric will have the perfect opportunity to make it all square. The Croatian has been in impeccable form this season and certainly has the quality to take the fight to the hosts at Stamford Bridge.
Mount, whose team recently swallowed a humbling 4-1 defeat at the hands of Brentford in the Premier League, will have to bring his A-game to neutralize Modric again.
A fascinating battle awaits.
#3 Kai Havertz vs David Alaba
Timo Werner and Kai Havertz tormented Real Madrid’ out-of-shape defense all night at Stamford Bridge last season. Raphael Varane and Eder Militao could not handle their pace and combinational play and were split open time and again in the second leg.
While it is unclear whether Werner will start against Madrid, Havertz is a shoo-in for the Champions League clash on Wednesday night. The former Bayer Leverkusen star is in the form of his life right now and was nominated for March’s Premier League Player of the Month award.
Tuchel is unlikely to deny him the opportunity to produce another memorable Champions League performance against Los Merengues.
Los Blancos summer signing David Alaba will have the responsibility of keeping Havertz quiet on Wednesday. He has adjusted superbly to life in the Spanish capital and has emerged as one of their most consistent performers this season.
With the former Bayern Munich ace on song, Madrid have a much higher chance of containing the threat Chelsea will produce going forward.
#2 Vinicius Junior vs Cesar Azpilicueta
From being an electrifying winger with questionable end-products to the team’s second-leading scorer, Vinicius Jr. has come a long way over the last few months.
He has used his pace well to get around defenders and has coupled it with tremendous composure to get his way. Give him an inch of space and all hell breaks loose.
Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel will try to make sure Vinicius, who has scored 17 goals in 40 games across competitions this season, does not get the space he craves.
And that’s where Cesar Azpilicueta comes into play. Although the Spaniard is no match for the Brazilian’s pace, Azpilicueta could use his experience to stop the speedster in his tracks.
If he manages to suffocate the winger, Vinicius could endure another frustrating outing, just like he did against Barcelona last month.
#1 Karim Benzema vs Antonio Rudiger
Real Madrid ace Karim Benzema has been by far the best player at the club over the last four seasons. This term, he has taken his goalscoring as well as creativity to a whole new level, recording 34 goals and 13 assists in 35 appearances across competitions.
In La Liga, he has not only emerged as the leading goalscorer (24) but also the division’s highest assist provider (11) in the 2021-22 campaign.
Chelsea centre-back Antonio Rudiger will undoubtedly be keeping an eye on Madrid’s in-form talisman. The German, whose contract runs out in June, is an impeccable interceptor and a workhorse who is rarely outmuscled. He has been Chelsea's best defender this season, producing decisive performances week in, week out.
Benzema capitalized on Paris Saint-Germain’s slip-ups in the Round of 16 second leg to score a hat-trick and send PSG crashing out of the tournament.
Antonio Rudiger will do his best to make sure Chelsea do not offer easy meals to the Frenchman on Wednesday night.
