Real Madrid-Chelsea, a guaranteed show
Real Madrid and Chelsea will meet for the first semi-final of this edition of the Champions League on Tuesday 27th at 9pm.
Real Madrid's record is a credit to them, but at this stage the Madrid players have a lot of games under their belts.
Chelsea eliminated Atlético de Madrid and then Porto. With Atlético they gave a very good account of themselves. With Porto in the first leg they had no problems, but in the second leg they were unable to score a goal.
The Londoners have a large squad based on many millionaire transfers. The duel between Casemiro and Kanté will be decisive for the control of the midfield. Madrid's defence is almost complete and it is logical that Carvajal, Varane, Militao and Nacho will start. The question is whether they will play with three centre-backs with Marcelo on the wing or if Nacho will play at left-back. Mendy is still injured. Valverde is also unavailable due to COVID. This could lead Zidane to opt for Marcelo. If so, the rest will be: Kroos, Casemiro, Modric, Vinicius and Benzema. If Marcelo does not play, the left flank will go to Asensio. Hazard will have minutes, although it would be rash to start him, let alone leave the Brazilian out. Let's hope that the Belgian finally justifies his signing.
Werner is the main threat to the white defence. And special attention will have to be paid to the runs of Mount, Kanté and Chilwell.
For their part, Chelsea will be paying close attention to Vinicius and Benzema. Thiago Silva is already available for the defence, but Chelsea will be without ex-Madrid player Mateo Kovacic. It will be an evenly matched duel. We don't know if Real Madrid will reach the level they did against Liverpool in the quarter-finals. If they do, they will be favourites to reach the final. We will see if they can physically withstand the frenetic pace set by the English team for 90 minutes.
The show is guaranteed, neither team knows how to play speculatively. Both Real Madrid and Chelsea play attacking football. Whoever fails to do so will pay for it. The success of their strikers will be key in deciding who gets through the tie and reaches the final.
