With a comfortable 3-1 lead from the first leg, Real Madrid hopes to seal their place in the Champions League semi-finals at home , by hosting the defending champions Chelsea today .
The merengue team shone at Stamford Bridge , having offensive forcefulness and taking advantage of the triplet made by Karim Benzema , who has scored 37 goals this season, 11 of them in the European competition.
The Frenchman has been a fundamental factor in the soccer year of the meringues. He has scored 45 per cent of the club’s goals in all competitions, but more importantly, he has done so at opportune moments.
Even the white coach, Carlo Ancelotti , did not hide the importance he has for his team. “We depend on Benzema, we are not going to deny it. I am very happy that it is so, it is a reality and it is a good thing, ”he indicated.
TEAM WITH TRADE
Added to this is the fact that Madrid is the club that has played the quarterfinals the most times in the history of the European Cup , with 37, counting the current match; So far, his balance is 30 wins, for six losses. For its part, Chelsea has a bill of eight wins, for two eliminations in this instance.
The last time the Blues visited the Santiago Bernabéu was in 2021, and the score ended 1-1. Likewise, the most recent occasion they reached the second leg of a UCL clash, trailing by two or more goals, was against Bayern München , in 2020, where they first fell at home 0-3, and then stumbled on territory. German 1-4.
Today, the Premier League team is looking for a heroic reaction in the white house , which will allow them to continue in the fight to retain their title.
In the other key, Bayern is looking to come back from 0-1 against Villarreal , which surprised them in the first leg match at La Cerámica . Unai Emery ‘s players hope to qualify the Yellow Submarine , current Europa League champions, to the Champions League semi-finals for the second time, after 2006.