Real Madrid – Chelsea: Real Flawlessly Exploit Chelsea’s Weakness (2-0)

Real Madrid secured a rather comfortable victory in the first leg of the quarter-final. Madrid’s positional interchanges and their ability to stretch Chelsea’s three-man midfield proved to be the difference at the Santiago Bernabéu. 
Tactical analysis and match report by Rahul Madhavan.

The Champions League nights are back, and with it, two of the recently-crowned champions go head-to-head to secure a spot in the semi-finals. 

Perhaps Real Madrid’s season has been summed up in their last two games. A four-nil drubbing of old foes Barcelona was followed by a narrow defeat to Villarreal. The inconsistency has proved to be their Achilles heel, but they have gathered momentum in recent weeks despite certainly handing the La Liga title to Barcelona.

But Real Madrid have proven time and again that this competition is their glittering crown jewel. Coming up against his former club, Carlo Ancelotti picked Thibaut Courtois in goal. Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, David Alaba, and Eduardo Camavinga formed the back four, while Toni Kroos, Federico Valverde, and Luka Modrić played in midfield. Meanwhile, Rodrygo, Vinícius Junior, and Karim Benzema formed the front three. 

Chelsea’s woes appear to escalate every game since the recent takeover. Their managerial shake-up has been nothing short of a tumultuous ride, with three managers at the helm in just as many games. But Frank Lampard’s resurrection has brought the Chelsea faithful back and they remain resolute in the pursuit of Champions League glory yet again. 

Lampard only made two changes to the side that

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