Chelsea face a stern battle with Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday night, with a place in the final four of the competition up for grabs. The match is, of course, a rerun of the semi-final tie last season, which saw the Blues come out on top and book a place in the final.
At the time, new manager Thomas Tuchel had brought a breath of fresh air to the club and guided his side all the way to European victory. Their win over Manchester City in Porto brought a second Champions League to Stamford Bridge, but he’ll be hoping to make it back-to-back triumphs this season.
Fast forward to the present day and the German coach will be hoping his side can respond to their humbling defeat at home to Brentford at the weekend. The Bees scored four past the Blues and gave them the worst possible return from international duty.
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Discussing the team selection and whether he had one eye on the Real Madrid tie on Saturday, the manager said: “No, absolutely not. We selected the team because we thought it was the best team against Brentford. Not half an eye or one percent of one for Real Madrid."
The defeat could be just what the Blues needed to get them prepped and focused for the clash with Los Blancos and history is on their side. Taking a look at the head-to-head stats, the two have only faced off five times in competitive fixtures.
The most recent was last season’s semi-final tie behind closed doors, with a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu. Goals from Christian Pulisic and Karim Benzema saw the game go level heading into the second leg.
The tie swung in the favour of Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, though, with Mason Mount and Timo Werner finding the back of the net to win the game 2-0, and the tie 3-1 on aggregate. A similar performance would suit them in the first leg on Wednesday.
The other three games played came from before the turn of the century, with a UEFA Super Cup win going the way of the Blues in 1998. The two other games came in the old European Cup Winners Cup, with a 1-1 draw in the first leg followed up by a 2-1 win for Chelsea in 1971.
It leaves Tuchel's side with a good looking record heading into the game, with three wins and two draws from five previous meetings. However, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side sitting top of La Liga and with crowds back in attendance, it could be a different challenge this time around.
