Record-chasing Tuchel Leads Chelsea into Real Madrid’s Den

Chelsea are in Spain for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie against Real Madrid this evening.

Thomas Tuchel is looking to guide Chelsea to an historic season in his first campaign with the club, having defeated Manchester City to reach the FA Cup final, while breezing past Porto in the quarter-finals to reach the Champions League final-four.

Madrid also have their work cut out for them domestically, currently sat second and two points behind Atletico Madrid in the race for the La Liga title. The Champions League veterans proved their credentials once more in the quarter-finals with a dominant 3-1 aggregate win over Liverpool.

Chelsea now have a serious chance to claim Champions League success for the first time since 2012, where they won their one and only title. Meanwhile, Madrid last reached the semi-finals in 2018, when they went on to lift the cup.

There is also some added steel to the impending counter, with Madrid president Florentino Perez still adamant that all 12 European Super League clubs remain tied to the proposal, while Chelsea quickly reversed their decision to join and Roman Abramovic has since issued an apology to the fans.

Chelsea are coming into their crucial fixture against Madrid with close to the entirety of their squad available to Tuchel.

The notable exception is that of Matte Kovacic, who will miss the first leg having struggled with a muscle injury as of late.

Madrid have been handed a major boost with the return of Toni Kroos, who has missed their last three matches as a precautionary measure.

Additionally, Eden Hazard could be in line to face his former club, having made a 15-minute cameo in Madrid’s draw with Real Betis on Saturday.

Zidane will be without Ferland Mendy, however, with the full-back struggling with a calf problem. Meanwhile, captain Sergio Ramos is reportedly targeting a return for the second leg.

Chelsea have enjoyed a dominant campaign in the Champions League this season, conceding just three goals and scoring 19 in their 10 matches played.

They started their group campaign in disappointing fashion, however, drawing their opener 0-0 at home to Sevilla.

The Blues never looked back from there, however, winning four matches on the bounce, before finishing their group stage with a 1-1 draw against FC Krasnodar, which saw them top their respective quartet.

Chelsea’s impressive form has certainly continued into the knockout stages, where they have conceded just one goal in four matches, sealing a 3-0 aggregate win over La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid and a 2-1 win over Porto.

In typical fashion, Madrid started the competition slowly with a home defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk that preceded a draw with Borussia Monchengladbach.

They bounced back with four consecutive victories to top their group, before claiming a 3-0 aggregate win over Atalanta to progress to the quarter-finals.

There, they came up against Liverpool in a repeat of the 2018 Champions League final, and again they emerged victorious, this time via a 3-1 aggregate win.

Though Chelsea come into the clash full of confidence after beating West Ham in their crucial Premier League encounter, it’s Madrid who are favoured by the bookies in the first leg.

Remarkably, given their respective stature in European football, the pair have met just three times in history, with Chelsea winning twice and the other result being a draw.

They last met all the way back in 1998, when Chelsea beat their Spanish counterparts to win the UEFA Super Cup.

Regardless, Los Blancos are the favourites to prevail, with odds of 7/5 to win the first leg, while Chelsea are the underdogs at 23/10. Meanwhile, a draw is at 21/10.