Carlo Ancelotti’s men face the 2020/21 European champions, with whom they have had some thrilling matches in recent years.
Friday’s Champions League quarter-finals draw brought together the competition’s two most recent winners, Real Madrid and Chelsea.
The two sides are undoubtedly amongst the most glamourous in world football and boast two of the most star-studded squads in the tournament. However despite their lavish talents and bulging trophy cabinets, both sides have slipped from their recent peaks this season.
Real Madrid currently sit nine points adrift of rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga, while Chelsea are mired in tenth and have little hope of finishing in the Premier League’s Champions League qualification spots for next season.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea: Head-to-head
In their run to a 14th Champions League trophy last year, Real Madrid orchestrated a number of astonishing comebacks over elite rivals. They faced reigning holders Chelsea in the quarter-finals and scored two late goals to clinch the tie.
Here’s how the two sides have fared in their seven previous meetings:
19 May 1971: Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea (UEFA European Cup Winners Cup)
21 May 1971: Real Madrid 1-2 Chelsea (UEFA European Cup Winners Cup)
28 August 1998: Chelsea 1-0 Real Madrid (UEFA Super Cup)
27 Apr 2021: Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea (UEFA Champions League)
05 May 2021: Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League)
06 Apr 2022: Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid (UEFA Champions League)
12 Apr 2022: Real Madrid 2-3 Chelsea (UEFA Champions League)
Chelsea have actually won four of their seven meetings with Los Blancos, but last year’s quarter-final defeat will live long in the memory for the Stamford Bridge faithful.
Modric floored Chelsea with ‘pass of the decade’ in last meeting
Interestingly, both of the two most recent Champions League winners beat the other in their successful runs to the final. In 2021 Chelsea secured a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge to knock out Madrid on their way to the club’s second Champions League triumph.
In the following season, Madrid eliminated the London side with one of their trademark comebacks at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The Spanish giants were 3-0 down on the night and in need of a goal to stay in the tie, when Croatian playmaker Luka Modric provided an astonishing outside-of-the-boot pass to set up the crucial goal for Rodrygo.
Modric’s use of the ‘trivela’ pass has been an iconic part of his game throughout his career but to perform such a difficult skill at a crucial moment in elite competition drew praise from all around the world. Former Rangers forward and British pundit Ally McCoist called it “the pass of the decade,” describing Modric as “magical”.
He may now be 37 years old, but Chelsea will know that keeping the Croatian quiet is key to their hopes of Champions League success this year.