Real Madrid-Chelsea, two roosters in the hands of the Holy Grail

They wander in their leagues, Real Madrid and Chelsea are entrusted The Holy Grail of the Champions League save the season. Paired for the third year in a row, the champions of the last two editions of the club’s main competition will open today at the Santiago Bernabéu a meeting between two teams whose balance at the end of the season will depend on their luck in Europe. The fight for the orejon, which will be delivered on June 10 in Istanbul, will straighten the fine line that separates heaven from hell for two giants of the old continent, who in short-term efforts almost always prove more formidable than in long ones. For both sides it is an intersection with a large gate or a dispensary.

He qualified for the final King’s Cup who will face Osasuna on May 6 at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, but with the chances of reasserting the league title buried for weeks, Real Madrid are once again placing all their chips on the Champions League, a roulette in which the Whites show an unrivaled skill that has fallen victim to Chelsea exactly twelve months ago. On that April 12, 2022, the Blues terrorized the Santiago Bernabéu with three goals that enabled a team then led by Thomas Tuchel to reverse a clash that had virtually doomed Carlo Ancelotti’s side six days earlier with Benzema’s stratospheric performance at Stamford Bridge. Fear reigned in the Merengue Coliseum from the onslaught of Mount, then enemies of Rüdiger and Werner, but Rodryg’s goal ten minutes before the end calmed down the local parishioners, and Benzema’s goal in extra time led them to ecstasy, which was the introduction to the fourteenth. .

Luck smiled on the Brits last season, when they drew away to Alfredo Di Stéfano to confirm the elimination of bleeding injuries that had no response in the city of Big Ben days later in London, and he had to watch from a distance as Chelsea won a second crown in to its history after beating Manchester City in the final held in Porto with a goal from Havertz.

The build-up of battles over the past two seasons has further spiced up the eighth clash between the whites and blues, who, interestingly, had previously only met in the 1971 Cup Winners’ Cup and 1998 European Super Cup finals, both decided in favor of Londoners Fulham, but which are now on their way to turning their feud into a modern classic with a lot on the line.

Ancelotti knows this well, whose future on the bench of Real Madrid largely depends on whether he will be able to reach Olympus in his favorite competition, which is why he was more vengeful than ever yesterday. “I’m fantastic at managing, but there are other things because this team is well done. If we win the Cup, we will win all the titles in two years. And there are teams that haven’t won it in their lives,” said the Italian ahead of the match for which he will recover the six Praetorians he oxygenated against Villarreal. The singing voice will continue to be led by Vinicius and Benzema, the authors of 46 goals between them this season; five more than the dullest Chelsea which he recorded in a hundred years.

More than HRK 600 million invested

Since Todd Boehly took ownership from Roman Abramóvič, the English have invested 611 million in signings, of which 328 correspond to the payment made in the winter market that dressed Enzo Fernández, Mudryk, Badiashile, Madueke, Malo Gust in blue. Andrey Santos, Datro Fofana and Joao Felix.

Despite this astronomical investment, the London side are closer to the Premier League relegation places than the European qualification zone and have seen a parade of four managers. Thomas Tuchel, Graham Potter and the transient Bruno Saltor have made way for Frank Lampard, the footballing legend who will officiate as a firefighter as the board finalize their selection of coach for the coming season, with Luis Enrique, Spalletti, Pochettino or Nagelsmann among the candidates. The Londoner’s restart against Wolverhampton last weekend did not give cause for optimism, but a convincing performance at the Santiago Bernabéu could be a turning point for a team that, like Real Madrid, lives in the Champions League.

Carlo Ancelotti: “Valverde has extraordinary human qualities”

Carlo Ancelotti saved the best for last for the press ahead of the match between Real Madrid and Chelsea, which corresponds to the first leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League. With his future still up in the air and at the expense of the Whites’ fortunes in the continent’s top competition, the Italian used the question of complicity between Vinicius and Benzema to justify his work at Chamartín. “This is a group that gets along well with each other. A group is fine when they understand when it’s time to joke and when it’s time to be serious. Handling this template is very easy for me. I manage very well and everyone recognizes it. I’m fantastic at managing, but there are other things because this team is well done. If we win the Cup, we will win all the titles in two years. And there are teams that don’t win it in their lifetime,” he emphasized.

The Italian did not want to get into the merits of Valverde’s case, but he broke spears for the Uruguayan after the attack on Álex Baena last Saturday. “I saw well, motivated. He trained well. I know him very well. Federico has extraordinary human qualities. I don’t want to comment on what happened, but I’m sure he’ll give his best tomorrow, like always,” he said. He also once again praised Vinicius, whom he believes is “unstoppable at the moment.” “Sometimes he gets stopped, but he goes, continues, continues… He has great continuity. He does it every day, he doesn’t even stick to it in training,” he explained about the Brazilian.

Frank Lampard: “Madrid is the favorite and I understand that”

Frank Lampard, the Chelsea coach, was decisive in the press room: “Real Madrid are the favorites and I understand why, there are difficulties in our season. But that is not the important thing. It’s an interesting challenge for us and the pressure doesn’t worry me, you have to deal with it if you’re a big player and you’re in a big club.” “We have to be very clear with the players, be clear about the threats. Look at Vinicius, look at Benzema’s movements… they are all dangerous,” he stressed.

probable compositions

Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga, Kroos, Valverde, Modric, Rodrygo, Benzema and Vinicius.

Chelsea: Kepa, James, Fofana, Koulibaly, Chilwell, Kanté, Enzo Fernández, Kovacic, Sterling, Havertz and Joao Félix.

Referee: Francois Letexier (France).

A watch: 21:00.

Stadium: Santiago Bernabeu.

TV: Movistar Champions League.

Milan measures the size of Naples in Europe

Antonio Garrido | is failing

San Siro will be a test for the great Napoli led by Luciano Spalletti. The undisputed leader of Serie A and one of the world sensations of the season faced off in the quarter-finals against the seven-time champion of the European Cup in an Italian duel in a style never seen before in the strongest continental competition. There have been better times in Milan, but the team led by Stefano Pioli has the tools to suffer the best Naples in its history. Without further ado, they met a few days ago in Serie A, with the Rossoneri winning 4:0 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium.

Rafael Leao and Olivier Giroud are the most distinctive footballers of the home team, which has a young and energetic team. The guests, for their part, reached the first quarter-final in their history and are the top scorer in the tournament with 25 goals. The lone leaders of Serie A with a huge difference compared to the pursuers and with determined footballers who blow up the historic records of the Parthenopean group. Its star player, Georgian Kvicha Kvaratskhelia, is already sought after by major European clubs for his ability to balance, adding to his determination in the box and making him one of the biggest attractions on planet football.

Victor Osimhen is the other big difference factor for this Napoli, but the Nigerian striker will not play against Milan due to a muscle injury. Without a doubt, it will be a sensitive defeat for Napoli, who, although they have a colorful and cohesive game in which everyone is the protagonist, usually end their games in the boots of Kvaratskhelia and Osimhen himself. Giovani Simeone also arrives between the cotton.

Probable lineups:

Milan: Mike Maignan, Davide Calabria, Tomori, Simon Kjaer, Theo Hernández, Sandro Tonali, Krunic, Bennacer, Brahim Díaz, Olivier Giroud and Rafael Leao.

Naples: Alex Meret, Di Lorenzo, Min-Jae Kim, Rahmani, Mario Rui, Zambo Anguissa, Lobotka, Zielinski, Hirving Lozano, Kvaratskhelia and Raspadori.