Chelsea go in search of a Champions League miracle tonight as they host Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are 2-0 down on aggregate after defeat in Spain last week, with goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio giving the 14-time champions complete control of the quarter-final tie.
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It’s three defeats in three matches since Frank Lampard returned to the Chelsea dugout, the club legend so far proving unable to even vaguely help turn the Blues’ struggles around. The likes of N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva return after being rested against Brighton, but it’s a surprisingly cautious lineup for the hosts with Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling and Mykhailo Mudryk all on the bench.
Real cruised past Liverpool in the last-16 and are well on track to knock out another English side tonight, with Manchester City likely then waiting in the semi-finals for Carlo Ancelotti’s side. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Nizaar Kinsella and Dan Kilpatrick at the ground.
2 mins: Barely a minute played and Carvajal is down in a heap. Got closed down as he looked to lump the ball up the pitch, did get caught on the foot by Havertz. Sure he’ll survive.
Chelsea are showing a desire to press right up the pitch from the start.
Courtois not exactly getting a warm reception from the Chelsea fans. We’ll leave it at that.
Either the Stamford Bridge speakers aren’t working, or the crowd are so loud it’s been drowned out. I suspect the former, you can hear the occasional whisper when the fans themselves go quiet trying to listen for it.
Off to a flyer.
