Will Chelsea shock Real Madrid?


By Neo Poho

Chelsea's caretaker manager Frank Lampard insists the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie with Real Madrid isn't as yet over as his side prepares for the second leg on Tuesday night against the Spanish giants at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea lost 2-0 in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu last week Wednesday courtesy of goals by Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio.

Despite the loss, Lampard believes Chelsea have what it takes to overturn the encounter and produce a historic comeback.

"Anything is possible in football and there’s no doubt that we’re a competitive team and we deserve to be here in this stage of the competition.

We also understand that the opponent is really high-level, but if we get things right, if we work hard, if we do the right things in the game, then anything is possible," Lampard said.

With Chelsea playing at home in the second leg, Lampard also believes the supporters of the home team will be influential in helping Chelsea to overcome Real Madrid.

"I’ve got no doubt the atmosphere will be positive at the stadium, and I am talking about the lead-up to the game and the start of the game, the rest is a little bit down to us as a team to play with a real desire and know how to turn the tie around."

While Kalidou Koulibaly and Ben Chilwell are ruled out of the second leg against Real Madrid due to a hamstring injury and suspension respectively, Lampard will be hoping that Kai Havertz, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Carney Chukwuemeka will be fit and available for the encounter.

Meanwhile, looking to qualify for another Champions League semi-final in as many seasons, defending champions Real Madrid will be without regular left back, Ferland Mendy.

The Frenchman has been dealing with a hamstring problem since January and subsequently suffered a fresh calf injury at the end of March in his return match against Barcelona.

Mendy's absence has seen Eduardo Camavinga slot in on the left of the back four and perform admirably well despite being a central midfielder.

In another UEFA Champions League quarter-final clash on Tuesday night, Napoli will welcome AC Milan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The two sides head into the second leg with AC Milan holding a 1-0 aggregate lead from the first leg.

Article Tags

Football

Chelsea

Real Madrid

UEFA Champions League

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