Chelsea and Real Madrid meet for the third consecutive year in the Champions League. Photo: Getty.
They are the last two teams that reigned in the Champions League and, for the third consecutive year, Real Madrid and Chelsea face each other (today at 3:00 p.m. Paraguay time) for a place in the semifinals, in the reunion of Carlo Ancelotti’s team against the that he was his ‘black beast’ until the last edition and that he arrives at the Santiago Bernabéu in a deep crisis.
History changed in a tie in which Real Madrid signed one of their best games of last year, at Stamford Bridge with a triplet by Karim Benzema (1-3), and he was heroic when others see everything lost, after being traced back at the Santiago Bernabéu. Also with a goal from Karim in extra time that shaped the second chapter of comebacks, after the one signed against PSG and without knowing that the best was still waiting for him, against Manchester City.
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Madrid’s power is reflected in those moments of greatness. Ten semifinals in the last twelve editions of the Champions League. Look for the eleventh in a duel, on paper, uneven.
The mutation capacity of a Real Madrid without options in LaLiga and that is transformed into a competition in which it has already launched a notice with a win for history in the first match. No one had ever endorsed Liverpool five at Anfield in European competition.
By your side, Chelsea hold on to this tie as the lifeline of the season. With the Premier League impossible, being closer to relegation than the ‘Champions’, for the ‘Blues’ it would be almost a title to eliminate Real Madrid. It would give Todd Boehly’s project a breather and confidence to the group, unaccustomed to the ups and downs of this course, in which up to three coaches -Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and Frank Lampard- have passed through the Stamford Bridge bench.
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For Chelsea, this tie is not only important in sporting terms, but also financially.because the disbursement of more than 600 million in the last two windows forces them to qualify for the Champions League next year, in order to comply with the financial ‘fair play’, and the only way is to win the ‘Orejona’ this year.
The transmission goes through the ESPN screens.
– Possible lineups:
Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Nacho; Camavinga, Kroos, Modric; Fede Valverde, Vinicius, Benzema.
Chelsea: Kepa; James, Fofana, Koulibaly, Chilwell; Enzo, Kovacic, Kante; Felix, Havertz, Sterling.
Referee: François Letexier (France).
Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
