MADRID, 12 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Chelsea will be one more year rival of Real Madrid in the Champions League. A team that, as usual, has a squad with a lot of potential, but that, like last season, is not hitting the key and has reduced its options to fighting for its third ‘Orejona’ with Frank Lampard as its third coach this season after Thomas Tuchel, who had replaced the former English midfielder in 2021, and Graham Potter. We review the ‘blues’ line by line.
1. Goal. Kepa Arrizabalaga, one of those who is on the alert, has regained the ownership that he had lost precisely with Lampard. The Basque goalkeeper found the confidence of Graham Potter and is finally offering the high level that brought him to the Premier from Athletic Club and that is reflected in his return to the Spanish team, where in the last break he showed that he is in good shape .
2. Defense. Despite the fact that with Graham Potter he came to improve appreciably at the back and began to keep his clean sheet more regularly and to sign a central defender like Koulibaly, a dangerous player in the air and who came to fill Antonio Rüdiger’s place, now at Real Madrid. However, he has encountered the serious injury of the Brazilian veteran Thiago Silva, which reduces the reliability of the defense, and for the same reason he will not be able to count on the Spanish César Azpilicueta. The Frenchman Fofana, who missed several months of competition due to a knee injury and who has accumulated just over a dozen matches, will accompany the Senegalese.
On the sides, two players with a long run. On the right, Reece James, who shone last year in the quarterfinals at the Bernabéu and who will have to deal with Vinicius on the right. On the left it seems that Ben Chilwell will play, physically powerful and with a good ball strike, to the detriment of the Spanish Marc Cucurella.
3. Midfield. Chelsea can boast of having a remarkable midfield to try to disconnect Real Madrid with their physique and deployment. For this, it is important that Lampard will be able to count on a key player like N’Golo Kanté, who showed off on the last visit and who arrives at this duel with rhythm after missing several months and the World Cup in Qatar.
Along with the small French midfielder, capable of reaching all places and covering a lot of the field, the talent of a world champion with Argentina like the promising Enzo Fernández, for whom Chelsea broke the winter transfer window to get a midfielder of much talent. The third component in the area will be an old acquaintance of the Madrid fans, the Croatian Mateo Kovacic, in good form and capable of breaking lines with his powerful drives.
4. Front. Lampard has a lot of potential there, although he is barely shining this season where he is accusing the lack of goals, with only 29 in 30 games in the Premier League. His best scorer this season, with nine goals, is the German Kai Havertz, a player with great mobility to create problems for central defenders and strong physically and in the air.
Along with the international, everything indicates that they will play the fast and skillful Raheem Sterling, second top scorer (7) and that in the round of 16 match of the 2019-2020 Champions League he did a lot of damage playing then with Manchester City; and the Portuguese Joao Felix. The ex of Atlético de Madrid is not shining too much on his loan to Chelsea either, but he could have a special ‘motivation’ against the Madrid team, against whom he has not scored any official goal.
On the bench, as a possible revulsion, another of the millionaire investments in the winter market, the talented Ukrainian Mikhaylo Mudryk, who already knows what it is to play this season at the Bernabéu, since he did it in the group stage as a Shakhtar player Donetsk. He cost 70 million euros, but he has hardly had a leading role in recent games and has not yet seen the door. In addition, Lampard could count on Mason Mount, far from his best level, and with the speed of American winger Christian Pulisic.