Chelsea will be looking to pose more threat to Real Madrid on Tuesday than they did last week and Toni Kroos has already warned his side about one possible danger
Thomas Tuchel will be desperate for his Chelsea attackers to cause Real Madrid many more problems on Tuesday evening as the two sides go head-to-head for the second time in six days. The Blues are currently trailing 3-1 after last week’s first leg that saw Karim Benzema rip the home side apart at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel knows how hard of a challenge it will be for Chelsea to overturn a two-goal deficit at the Santiago Bernabeu, but insisted his side will give it everything they have. “What chance? Not the biggest chance given the first game’s result and given the competition and the opponent and the stadium we play,” Tuchel said in his pre-match press conference on Monday morning.
“We never manage our input and our effort and our belief by the chances we have for our result. We never did and we will not start tomorrow by giving less because it is very unlikely that we make it.
“It is unlikely but it is worth trying and trying means that we will play to our fullest and to our full limit because this is what we do and we never manage our input and investment by the chances of having a result. This is what it is, it is a big night and a big match and we will try to be in better shape and condition than in the first match.”
One man that is likely to be pivotal in Chelsea producing a comeback in Madrid is Kai Havertz. The 22-year-old forward has been in tremendous form of late – with eight goals in his last 11 matches for the Blues in all competitions.
Havertz is really starting to show just why Chelsea splashed just shy of £73million for his services in the summer of 2020, after a mixed debut campaign in England. Real Madrid will know all too well about his threat as well, with the Germany international netting Chelsea’s only goal in the first leg in west London less than a week ago.
Toni Kroos, his international team-mate with Germany, warned his Los Blancos’ team-mates less than two years ago about the threat he can cause the defenders. “If he continues like this, he’ll be hard to stop,” Kroos told Bild am Sonntag, via Sport Bild, in September 2020, when Havertz was at Bayer Leverkusen.
“But there are no guarantees and there are always stumbling blocks in a career. Kai is now facing the next step and a new situation. He also has to get used to it first.”
Last month, ahead of Chelsea’s second-leg win over Lille in the Champions League, Havertz spoke about his rich vein of form and whether he has now found his best position (as the number nine). He replied: “It’s hard to say. I’m in a good run right now I think.
“I’ve played some good matches in the past, so maybe with my performances in the last few matches. But I think as a footballer, you’re always hungry and want more. So I hope I can play with a lot more consistency, like in the last year for example, and I hope I can keep on going like this.”
As it stands right now, Havertz is Chelsea’s joint top-scorer in the Champions League this term, with three goals to his name, alongside his team-mate Timo Werner. In all competitions, Havertz leads the way for the Blues, with 13 goals.
