Real Madrid will host Chelsea in the first leg of their quarterfinal UEFA Champions League match in less than two weeks at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It is a rematch of the Champions League quarterfinal from the previous season, with the difference being that Real Madrid triumphed in that match after winning the first leg at Stamford Bridge.
Los Merengues advanced on the whole even though they dropped the second leg, 3-2. Real Madrid was 3-0 down and appeared to be going out of the tournament at one stage in the second leg.
Nevertheless, that was not how the game ended because Luka Modric worked his magic and sent in a beautiful outside-of-the-boot pass for Rodrygo to score. Karim Benzema scored in the extra period to secure his team’s victory overall after that incident necessitated extra time.
Former Real Madrid midfielder Mateo Kovacic played for Chelsea on that crucial night and was on the losing team. The Croatian has now opened up to Sportske Novosti about last year’s magical moment from Modric as well as the possibility of playing Real Madrid once more.
“Last year, especially in Madrid, we performed well against Real Madrid. The trivela assist was then created by Modri for Rodrygo. Against them, we must give it our all. Every infraction is swiftly punished. While I’ll sᴀʏ it again, we proved to be a tough opponent for them,” Kovacic remarked.
In response to the possibility of playing Modric, a personal friend and comrade, Kovacic added: “[laughter] how the draw organizes things… Real Madrid is consistently the most dangerous team in the Champions League, so it won’t be easy for us.
Being in competition with Modric is an odd feeling. Because neither he nor I draw back, there were severe fouls last year. We will definitely ꜰɪɢʜᴛ. We’ll see who wants what as I play on the left and he plays on the right. I don’t want to injure him, though,” he continued.
During the 2020–21 season, Chelsea faced Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League, and they were able to defeat them in the semifinals en route to winning the competition.
Although the Blues have not been playing well this season, they have the talent and star power to ʜᴜʀᴛ Real Madrid, and Carlo Ancelotti’s team will need to play their best game to advance to the next round.
