Chelsea take on Real Madrid in the Champions League for the
first time ever this evening, a game which looks like an evenly balanced game.
The Blues face Los Blancos in the Semi-final of the
competition knowing they are potentially just 180 minutes from reaching this
season’s final in Istanbul.
It’s the sort of challenge that Tuchel relishes and he
expects his Chelsea players to continue their good form and produce another
mature display on the European stage.
Here are three areas in which Real hold an advantage over
the Blues that they can use to get off to the right start in the first leg.
Thibaut
Courtois in goal
Chelsea have found a quality goalkeeper in Edouard Mendy,
who is young and has saved 70 percent of the shots he’s faced in the Premier
League. But Real Madrid have one of the best keepers in the world in Thibaut
Courtois.
Courtois is no doubt a
familiar face to Chelsea fans, given he was literally the best in the world at
the position before leaving for Los Blancos.
It took a bit of time for Courtois to find his footing, but
once the team around him settled, so did he. Courtois is now the one leading
the way for La Liga goalkeepers with a jaw-dropping 81.6 save percentage.
Real Madrid have the experience
advantage
Chelsea
are not entirely lacking in Champions League experience, given Thomas Tuchel
and Thiago Silva both made it to the final last year with PSG. Hakim Ziyech had
quite the run with Ajax too.
But a good amount of Real Madrid players were part of the
three time Champions League winning squad under Zidane.
It’s
an advantage no other team in this competition boasts, and it’s one that has
helped carry Real Madrid far in this competition, even when they faced serious
crisis points in the group stages.
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