The Los Blancos have been unbelievable in this campaign. They have a 10-points lead at the top of LaLiga table going into El Clasico this weekend, and are on course to win their 35th league title.
What reminds us of how compact a team they are is the win over Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League Round of 16 two weeks ago. They literally came back from the death, with their captain and unarguably best player this term, Karim Benzema, popping up to score a hat-trick in just 17 minutes against a star-studded Paris side.
It’s never overflogged to say the Los Merengues are the most successful European club; they are also in Spain and in the world. The 13-time Champions League winners have particularly shown the character the world saw when they won their 10th title during the first reign of Carlo Ancelotti, who incidentally is now in charge of the club.
On Friday, Real were paired with current holders, Chelsea, in the quarter-final draws. The Premier League side eliminated the Spanish side 3-1 on aggregate in one of last season’s semi-finals and eventually won it, to lift the trophy for only the second time in their history.
Apart from the fact that the tie is the most interesting of the draws, football fans can be assured of an epic battle. However, as mighty as Real may appear, history favours Chelsea each time they meet.
The LaLiga leaders and the Thomas Tuchel side have met five times in European competitions, and have not lost to Real; winning three and drawing two.
Chelsea have had their troubles this season, including the club taken away from Roman Abramovich, but they have been blistering on the field.
While Real will be seeking some revenge following their ouster from the competition last season, Ancelotti who guided Chelsea to the FA Cup and league double in his two years as manager at Stamford Bridge, will want to get one over his former employers.
With the League in England already a two-horse race between Manchester City and Liverpool, Thomas Tuchel, who has made history at Chelsea as the only manager to win the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, would want to end the season with a big trophy, or retain the ‘big trophy’.
The German has committed his future to ‘The Blues’ in the midst of links to Manchester United. He demonstrated his tactical credentials when he outwitted Zinedine Zidane who was the manager at the Bernabeu in their last-four clash this past season.
With somuch look out for in the next month’s clash, history has been rewritten many times and also been repeated. But if it is about the latter, Real can just kiss their European season goodbye.
