Chelsea face Mission: Impossible at the Bernabeu as Real Madrid look to appeal to Kylian Mbappe, Erling Haaland and the rest of the NextGen galacticos.
That’s the verdict of Mirror Sport columnist Stan Collymore, who cannot see Thomas Tuchel’s boys in blue overturning the 3-1 defeat they suffered at Stamford Bridge last week. Karim Benzema struck a stunning hat-tricking the first leg as Los Blancos put one foot into the semi-finals.
Kai Havertz, who scored the winning goal in last season’s Champions League final, had reduced the deficit to 2-1 before the Frenchman sealed the visitors’ win with his third of the night and gave Chelsea a mountain to climb. Collymore said: “I see Manchester City and Liverpool going through to the semis but Chelsea, I’m afraid, going out.
“I just don’t see them overturning their 3-1 deficit at the Bernabeu — Real are the masters in this tournament. The Spaniards have had a rough time of late financially, as have Barcelona, but I just don’t see them getting done at home in a competition they see very much as their own.
“Plus, if they win the Champions League this season, this gives them a chance to sell the club to Mbappe, Haaland and the next potential generation of galacticos. Real are creaking at the seams at times with the old guard — Benzema, Bale got booed when he came on against Getafe.
“They have great players, like Barcelona, but they’re players who ordinarily Real or Barca wouldn’t be having at this stage of their careers. They’d be going for the younger versions and this is a great opportunity for Real to be able to reset and say, ‘Even with the financial restrictions we have turned things around and got things back on track money-wise.
“We are now the Real Madrid again that you can come to and live out all your dreams. I’m sure Real Madrid will think of Haaland and Mbappe when it comes to getting themselves back to where they need to be.”
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Benzema was in sizzling form and was rightly showered with praise from all quarters after he backed up his hat-trick in the round of 16 against Paris Saint-Germain with another against Chelsea. As a former Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and England striker, Collymore knows a thing or two about operating through the middle.
And he recently described Benzema, of whom he is a huge admirer, as a ‘striker’s striker’, adding: “Benzema is a fine wine, a Chateau Lafite Rothschild of a footballer. His back-to-back Champions League hat-tricks have been remarkable and I’m delighted for him that he is playing so well and, even more so, with a smile on his face. To see him being given love from his Real Madrid team-mates and laughing and joking with them is great, and long may it continue.”
