Real Madrid x Chelsea
Real Madrid will host today (Wednesday) at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium, Chelsea, in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, and in another meeting, Napoli will visit its compatriot Milan at the San Siro stadium in a historic Italian summit under the banner of the Champions League.
After a volatile start to the season, Real Madrid wore the usual challenge clothes in the Champions League, in its quest to win the sixth title in ten years and the fifteenth in its history, consolidating its record.
Real Madrid scored 12 goals in the last three matches, including a clean four against Barcelona, which is strongly nominated for the league title, due to its comfortable lead.
The "Merengue" fell in its last league match against Villarreal 2-3, but its Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti made 6 changes to the winning squad in Barcelona, preserving the freshness of the likes of German Toni Kroos and Croatian Luka Modric for Chelsea today.
Benzema scored two consecutive hat-tricks against Valladolid and Barcelona, raising his levels as the season progressed and reached the decisive stages.
And the seasoned Italian, Ancelotti, compared his team last March to a water heater that reaches the desired temperature at the right time. “When the team approaches the title, the temperature of the heater rises.”
And after the loud victory over Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou; Which saw Real reach the Cup final for the first time since 2014, Ancelotti recalled the heater again. “The heater returned to its normal temperature in the most important period of the season.”
Benzema's heat has fluctuated this season, from blistering goalscoring moments to a lengthy injury layoff.
The 35-year-old spent most of October and November away and did not participate in the Qatar World Cup with France after suffering a thigh injury.
Benzema failed to score in the group stage in the Champions League, but he was hit by a hat-trick against Liverpool in the two round of 16 matches.
And Chelsea got used to the damage that Benzema could cause, as he scored a hat-trick last season at his Stamford Bridge stadium in west London, during a 3-1 first-leg victory in the quarter-finals.
Madrid were crowned in the final at the expense of Liverpool in Paris, and now set their sights on the Istanbul final.
Okaz (Madrid) @okaz_sports
