13th: First chance for Benzema
Nice number of the infernal duo Benzema-Vinicius in very small spaces. The Frenchman exports himself into the area and straightens his shot from a tight angle. The people of Madrid are finally dangerous.
11th: Difficult start to the match for Real
This start to the match is curious, with Madrid who keep the ball but have already been caught several times by bleeding English counters. Ancelotti’s men are in deficit in the impact in midfield, where Kanté performs.
7th: A yellow also for Camavinga
Behind Sterling not far from his surface, Camavinga tackles his opponent from behind and receives a deserved yellow. The French see yellow at the start of the match.
5th: Fofana already warned
While Vinicius had overtaken him on the left, the defender hangs on voluntarily and receives a very fast card in this match. This risks conditioning the rest of his game.
4th: Kanté is untenable
For his very first match of the season in the Champions League, the French midfielder is on his feet and is already hurting a lot with his quality of percussion.
2nd: Courtois already on parade!
Chelsea offers the first very big situation of this match! Real have had the ball since kick-off but are already exposed. Kanté launches Joao Félix who will challenge Militao in speed. The Portuguese manages to hit hard on the ground, Courtois kicks back!
1st: Let’s go to the Santiago-Bernabeu!
It was the English, in blue, who kicked off this quarter-final first leg of the Champions League!
The anthem of the competition will sound
The players make their entrance on the lawn of a Santiago-Bernabeu in the perfume of the great evenings, accompanied by the French referee of the meeting, François Letexier.
Heavy to come in the last four
The winner of this double confrontation will find Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the competition. Pep Guardiola’s men took an option on qualification after their success Tuesday night (3-0) against the Bavarians.
Stat
Real Madrid and Chelsea will meet in a knockout game for the third season in a row. The London club prevailed in the semi-finals in 2020-21 before winning the competition, while the Madrid club won in the quarter-finals in 2021-22 before also lifting the trophy.
Warm-up time
Real as a regular, Chelsea on a mission
Defending champions, the people of Madrid are in their element in the Champions League, they who hold the record for coronations in the competition (14). After knocking down Liverpool in the round of 16 (5-2, 1-0), Real challenges a new English team. Despite a completely failed season in the Championship (11th in the Premier League), the Blues offered themselves a breath of fresh air on the European scene by bringing down Dortmund (0-1, 2-0).
Kanté finally back on the European scene
We meet once again !
Like last season, Real Madrid and Chelsea meet in the Champions League quarter-final stage. Their clash gave rise to an exceptional scenario a year ago, with four goals from an immense Karim Benzema and a qualification for the Merengues. The Spaniards leave largely favorites of their double confrontation against the Blues of Frank Lampard, just named in place of Graham Potter.
The compositions for this shock, Benzema and Kanté holders
Only Ferland Mendy is missing on the Madrid side. Karim Benzema starts in attack alongside Vinicius and Rodrygo. Eduardo Camavinga is aligned to the left side position, as regularly in recent weeks. Aurélien Tchouaméni is on the bench.
Le onze du Real : Courtois – Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga – Valverde, Kroos, Modric – Rodrygo, Benzema, Vinicius.
The Blues start in 5-3-2 with the Joao Félix-Raheem Sterling duo in front. In the middle, N’Golo Kanté knows his first tenure of the season in the Champions League alongside Enzo Fernandez and Mateo Kovacic. Behind, the French Wesley Fofana accompanies Thiago Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly. Chelsea are without Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Armando Broja and Noni Madueke.
Chelsea’s eleven: Kepa – Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly – James, Kante, Fernandez, Kovacic, Chilwell – Felix, Sterling.