Features
Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Chelsea | UEFA Champions League
There is an unexplainable sense of security as a Real Madrid fan heading into a UEFA Champions League Matchday as they gear up to take on Chelsea in the quarter-finals.
Los Blancos find themselves pitted against one of the Premier League’s biggest sides over the years, yet, one knows that very few sides in world football can claim to be better than Carlo Ancelotti’s side in knockout football.
The first of two legs will be played on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu. Stamford Bridge will host the second leg later this month, making it imperative for the Merengues to utilise their home advantage first.
With the Copa del Rey almost in the bag, a big win on Wednesday could help Real Madrid put a foot into the Champions semi-finals and complete their dream of two trophies at the end of the season.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Chelsea.
1. The one that matters
Real Madrid’s collapse in La Liga from January is a matter of concern, yet is a blessing in disguise for the squad.
Carlo Ancelotti may insist that the league title race is still not over and that his side will fight for it until the very end. Yet, it is clear that the men in white see La Liga as a tertiary priority this season with significantly more focus placed on the Champions League and the Copa del Rey.
Los Blancos dropped three vital points against Villarreal at the weekend but the defeat was not talked about enough for the same reason. Nestles between the fixtures against Barcelona and Chelsea, the league game was given a pass.
Now Ancelotti’s men face the real challenge and the one they are expected to relish. Taking on Frank Lampard’s vulnerable Blues, the Spanish champions are the favourites to run away to a lead on Wednesday.
The first reaction in the dressing room after the defeat to Villarreal was a pledge by the players that the result on Saturday would not affect their confidence and momentum midweek. That desire and belief, needless to say, will be a must if the defending champions are to triumph over Chelsea.
2. The Reece James situation
Real Madrid suffering against Villarreal was pioneered by one man on the opposition’s right wing. Samuel Chukwueze, the latest transfer target for the Merengues, smoked through the hosts’ weak left wing on the night and gave Nacho Fernandez a run for his money.
Yet, the story was part of a recurring theme in Real Madrid games. Ferland Mendy’s injury has left the left-back position in a situation of worry and the manager has turned to Eduardo Camavinga and Nacho to fill his boots.
Against Chelsea, the battle down the left will be more important than ever.
Chelsea right-back and Real Madrid target Reece James is expected to start down the flank against Los Blancos and the matchups against him will decide the outcome of the game.
For starters, Vinicius Jr will go head to head against the 23-year-old who averages over ten defensive actions per game on the night. The Brazilian is by far the hosts’ most creative outlet and it will be a matter of concern if he cannot escape from the Englishman’s clutches.
Simultaneously, however, Chelsea’s right-back boasts of searing pace and stamina and is capable of generating devastating counter-attacks down the wing. With Ancelotti’s side having well-documented struggles at left-back, the battle becomes interesting.
3. The third attacker
Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema are no strangers to playing against Chelsea. The duo has started in all four games between the two sides in the past two years with the Frenchman even scoring five goals in the process.
Come Wednesday, the Brazilian-French combination is expected to start again but there is a lot of discussion over who should join them in the final third. Ancelotti realistically has two options on the table – Rodrygo Goes and Federico Valverde.
Valverde started both legs of the UCL Quarterfinal against the London-based side last season and has been Ancelotti’s first choice to fill the third spot in attack this season. There are, however, two problems surrounding his case.
Valverde’s drop-off in form in recent games has been concerning. While the Uruguayan international is still key in buildups and is secure with the ball at his feet, he no longer shows the X-factor in front of the goal he boasted of earlier in the season.
Moreover, the youngster is not in the best state of mind after the events with Alex Baena on Saturday and could face serious sanctions for his physical assault. Ancelotti has confirmed that Valverde would play a part on Wednesday, but it remains to be seen if it is as a starter.
The most appealing option other than the midfielder is Rodrygo who is slowly making a case to be a regular starter. The youngster may not be a traditional right-winger but his ability to make runs into the box and his impeccable final touch give him a use case.
There may even be a possibility that Rodrygo gets the nod on the right flank while Valverde partners Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in midfield as he did against Barcelona last week.
The derby weekend is here as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are set to lock horns on Sunday afternoon at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
After an eventful transfer window and a stuttering start, Atletico Madrid reaffirmed their position as genuine title contenders and have done decently well so far this season.
With four wins, a draw and a defeat to their name, they sit on 13 points after six games.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have only had one defeat and are on 15 points after as many games, only behind Barcelona who sit on a perfect record.
Diego Simeone’s men had a shaky start to the season, but have picked up steam in recent weeks with seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two games.
Given their strong record against Real Madrid at home, they will look to take all three points tomorrow.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid.
A test away from home
It is no secret that Real Madrid’s form on the road this season has been poor, not necessarily for the results themselves but how the team have conducted themselves in away grounds.
For the first time in years, there appears to be a sense of uncertainty around Los Blancos’ ability to produce results away from home.
For long periods in the game, they appear willing to hand over the momentum, and the resultant pressure has seen them collapse.
A last-gasp winner from Carlos Espi handed them the win against Espanyol away from home, and they went on to lose against Real Betis in their second away fixture of the season.
Most recently, they bottled a 2-0 lead against Elche and again required a stoppage-time winner from Espi to take the three points.
Tomorrow’s game, in that sense, is extremely challenging, for it is not only away from home but against an opposition of high quality.
Playing Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano is as challenging as games get, and Real Madrid have an extremely poor record at the venue.
Since 2017, Real Madrid have only won twice at the Metropolitano with three defeats and three draws. Last season, they suffered a 5-2 defeat and the game went on to break the team’s momentum.
Heading into such a tricky clash with an ongoing crisis away from home makes Sunday’s clash very complicated for the Merengues.
Arda Guler has to return
After a long time, Jose Mourinho took the Yan Diomande experiment to the next level and handed the player back-to-back starts for Real Madrid.
Clearly, the new signing still has a long way to go in terms of his adaptation, but he has been promising as an attacking outlet in his few appearances.
Diomande started both against Rayo Vallecano and Elche, but there is a strong case to drop him for the Madrid derby and play Arda Guler instead.
The Turkish international was on the bench against Rayo Vallecano and played as a No. 10 against Elche, with Jude Bellingham rested. Now, with the Englishman set to return, the manager has a decision to make.
Mourinho has made it clear that he wishes to ease Diomande into Real Madrid’s dynamics to reduce the pressure on his shoulders. Fielding him from the start in a derby would contradict that idea.
Beyond that, however, Guler has shown far more utility and promise as an attacking and creative outlet than Diomande, making the right-wing decision quite clear for the manager.
Real Madrid with and without Guler have been two completely different stories this season, and the team will require every last bit of creative inspiration that he has in him to get past Atletico Madrid tomorrow afternoon.
There is also a case for Brahim Diaz to be brought in, and the Moroccan star is also probably ahead of Diomande on the pecking order. Guler, however, stands out as a top option even ahead of Brahim.
Eyes on Vinicius Jr.
For years, Vinicius Jr. has always utilised the big stages to make his statements, for he has been a player to speak through performances and not words.
For instance, he scored a stunning solo goal last season against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup at a time when he was least expected to do so. At that point, he had not scored in 16 straight games, but the big moment called out to him.
It is clear that the Brazilian is not going through his best moment right now once again. The past few weeks have been hard on him, especially after he did well at the World Cup and returned to Madrid with higher expectations on him.
So far this season, Vinicius has only scored one goal in seven games. Beyond the goals, however, he has not looked like his usual threatening self on the flank and has not created half as many chances as he usually would.
Such is the player’s situation that his place in the team is being called into doubt for the first time in years. After all, Yan Diomande can play on the left and showed glimpses of his ability in the previous game.
All eyes, thus, will be on Vinicius on Sunday to see if he can step up to the occasion and make his presence felt when it really matters. He has always been one for the big stage, and tomorrow’s stage is the biggest yet this season.
Mrs Vahide Barnes
April 13, 2023 at 1:46 am
Chelsea as a team was amazingly so bad. I cant believe that the coach kept #11,(instead of having Plusik play at the left wing) who was so awful after missing an easy goal in early game. How can so many players in Chelsea miss so many passes? If they think that playing expensive players will win them games, they are so mistaken. So far,all they did was loose games.