He Real Madrid is the rival that all teams want to avoid in the Champions. No other club has the emotional control that the most important competition requires. But in the 2022/2023 edition, the road to the ‘Fifteenth’ for the whites has become even more complicated. In the quarterfinals they will face Todd Boehly’s ‘millionaire’ Chelsea, very different from the team they managed to defeat last season at the Bernabéu, which will be the scene of the first leg.
The team of Ancelotti will not have ‘field factor’ neither in this nor in the next tie, where the winner of Manchester City – Bayern Munich would await him. The draw table has been unbalanced. On the one hand, a sum of colossi; on the other, an ‘italianized’ path (Benfica – Inter and Milan – Naples). In the round of 16, Real Madrid did play the second leg at their stadium, but it was their brilliant performance at Anfield in the first leg that earned them a pleasant tie against Liverpool.
Third in a row with Chelsea
Chelsea have become a regular rival to Real Madrid in recent years. In the 2020/2021 season they met in the semifinals. The English team emerged victorious after drawing (1-1) at the Bernabéu and winning 2-0 at Stamford Bridge with goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount. Thomas Tuchel’s team beat Guardiola’s Manchester City in the final (0-1). Both contenders They met again last season 2021/2022, precisely in the quarterfinals of end.
This time, Ancelotti’s team emerged victorious thanks to a result that is only on par with the team they lead. on the way, Karim Benzema scored a hat trick in 45 minutes which was only offset by a goal from Havertz (1-3). In the return, Chelsea, plunged at that time into a serious institutional crisis due to the departure of Roman Abramovich, managed to turn it around with goals from Mount, today’s Real Madrid player Rüdiger and Werner. But what happens almost always at the Bernabéu happened.
When Real Madrid seemed dead, Modric he took a masterful pass with the outside that Rodrygo He put it in the back of the net with a wonderful first shot. That goal forced extra time, but anyone who knows the recent history of the team that has won the most European Cups knew that the comeback goal was a matter of time. And he arrived in extra time due to the work of Benzema.
Chelsea: 650 million in transfers
The Chelsea that was defeated at the Bernabéu last season has little to do with the current one. In July 2022, the American magnate Todd Boehly bought the club and from there began a huge investment. Since his arrival, the London team has become the biggest spender in European football: almost 650 million between the summer and winter markets.
Real Madrid’s rival has paid an extra cost for everything they have bought. From Mijailo Mudryk (100 million from Shakhtar to be able to take it away from Arsenal) to Enzo Fernández (120 million euros, the most expensive signing in the Premier), going by Joao Felix (loaned for half a season by Atlético for 10 million euros).
How do Chelsea play?
These moves have not improved the performance of Graham Potter’s team, for which Chelsea also had to pay Brighton. In fact, this team is doing better in the English league than the ‘blues’, tenth and far from Europe. The English coach usually bets on a 3-4-3 with very advanced full-backs like Reece James and Ben Chillwell, daggers in the bands.
The hallmarks of the current Chelsea are the rupture velocity and pressure after stall. As for the scheme, Kepa, summoned by Luis de la Fuente, has taken ownership from Mendy. At the back, Fofana and Koulibaly form with Cucurella, who acts as the third center back. There he shone in the round of 16 against Dortmund, which Chelsea managed to overcome at Stamford Bridge.
In the middle, the ex-madridista Kovacic escorts Enzo Fernández. They are a duo with a great physical deployment and ball output. Above, the list of candidates is wide, with Havertz, Pulisic, Sterling, Mount, Mudryk, Joao Félix, Ziyech or Gallagher. Very associative players, although without the goal that Chelsea requires, without a ‘9’ of reference after the departures of Lukaku and Werner.
