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Chelsea logo
Champions League | Quarter-Finals | 2nd Leg
Apr 18, 2023 at 8pm UK
Stamford Bridge
Real Madrid logo

Chelsea
0 - 2
Real Madrid


Cucurella (34'), James (50'), Mudryk (89')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Rodrygo (58', 80')
Militao (22')

Real Madrid handed double fitness boost for Chelsea clash

Real Madrid handed double fitness boost for Chelsea clash
© Reuters
Real Madrid have both Toni Kroos and Vinicius Junior back in their squad for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg with Chelsea.

Real Madrid will again only be missing one player for their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Chelsea, with Ferland Mendy still on the sidelines due to a calf problem.

Los Blancos head coach Carlo Ancelotti made wholesale changes for the La Liga contest with Cadiz on Saturday, which ended in a 2-0 victory for the capital giants.

There had been some concern over both Vinicius Junior and Toni Kroos after the pair were left out of the squad for the league game with the Yellow Submarine at the weekend.

However, Ancelotti insisted that both players would be available for selection against Chelsea despite "small issues", and the pair are indeed in the squad.

"They will play on Tuesday. They couldn't play today because they both had small issues. They trained separately today but tomorrow they'll train as normal and be fine for Tuesday," Ancelotti told reporters when questioned on the duo after the game with Cadiz.

Vinicius Junior celebrates scoring for Real Madrid on November 2, 2022© Reuters

Karim Benzema surprisingly played the full 90 minutes against Cadiz despite his fitness issues this season.

However, Ancelotti also insisted after the league game at the weekend that the Frenchman would be ready for the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final with Chelsea.

"He looks in great shape to me, very fresh. He trained brilliantly yesterday. I told him I'd play him but bring him off when he got tired but he was fine until the end," said the Italian.

"He was disappointed not to have scored, but it was a pleasure to watch him. I didn't want to bring him off because I was enjoying him being on the pitch and his nice link-up with Rodrygo."

Lucas Vazquez, Antonio Rudiger, Nacho, Aurelien Tchouameni, Dani Ceballos and Marco Asensio all came in for starts at the weekend following the first leg with Chelsea, which ended in a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid.

Real Madrid's Toni Kroos in action with Chelsea's Joao Felix on April 12, 2023© Reuters

However, Ancelotti is expected to recall his key players for this match, with Dani Carvajal, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, Kroos, Luka Modric and Vinicius all set to start.

The Real Madrid head coach has a decision to make when it comes to the right of his attack, with Rodrygo bidding to keep his spot, but Federico Valverde could be pushed into that area to allow Camavinga to return to a midfield position.

Camavinga featured as the left-back against Chelsea in the first leg, but Alaba could be used in that area of the field to allow Rudiger to play alongside Eder Militao in the middle of the defence.

Benzema opened the scoring in the reverse match at Bernabeu last week before Asensio netted in the second period, with the reigning champions in a strong position when it comes to reaching the final four.

Real Madrid squad vs. Chelsea:

Courtois, Lunin, Lopez; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Vallejo, Nacho, Odriozola, Vazquez, Rudiger; Kroos, Modric, Camavinga, Valverde, Tchouameni, Ceballos; Hazard, Benzema, Asensio, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Mariano

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Written by
Matt Law
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