Chelsea vs Real Madrid LIVE commentary: Blues look to pull off shock comeback against Champions League specialists

Chelsea will look to pull off an improbable comeback against Real Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final this week.

The Blues trail 2-0 in the tie after goals from Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio sealed a comfortable win at the Bernabeu for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

Frank Lampard’s return to Stamford Bridge couldn’t have started worse, as Chelsea have lost all three games and scored one goal.

Real have made it to at least the semi-finals in ten of the last 12 seasons, winning five Champions League titles.

But Chelsea have progressed from five of their last seven European knockout games in which they lost the first leg, so that must encourage Lampard and co.

Chelsea vs Real Madrid: talkSPORT coverage

This Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash is set to take place on Tuesday, April 18.

Kick-off at Stamford Bridge is scheduled for 8pm.

talkSPORT will have live coverage from west London, with Adrian Durham serving as your presenter.

Commentary will then come from Jim Proudfoot and former Chelsea defender Scott Minto.

talkSPORT.com will also have a live blog with regular updates.

To tune in to talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 through the website, click HERE for the live stream.

You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, through your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.

Chelsea vs Real Madrid: Team news

The hosts will be without Ben Chilwell after he was sent off in the first leg for denying a goal-scoring opportunity.

Kalidou Koulibaly injured his hamstring in Madrid, meaning he won’t play any part in the second leg.

Armando Broja remains out recovering from an ACL issue but Kai Havertz and Ruben Loftus-Cheek should be fit after shaking off knocks.

Meanwhile, Real have named their squad, with Ferland Mendy the only notable absentee.

Toni Kroos and Vinicius Jr missed the weekend’s win over Cadiz, while Luka Modric, David Alaba and Dani Carvajal were on the bench, but all will come back into the team.

Chelsea vs Real Madrid: What has been said?

Tony Cascarino believes Chelsea are worse now than they were under Graham Potter.

Speaking to talkSPORT about his former club, he said: “I would say they are a worse team than Graham Potter’s team at the moment from what I’ve seen in the three games.

“So they have even gone backwards from what happened at the end from Graham Potter.

“This isn’t really have a go at Frank, I understand that he has problems at the club and the club is in a right mess.

“He is a club legend because of his achievements on the football pitch as a player. But my biggest issue is… you know how [Jose] Mourinho would do something and make you think?

“I remember going to games under Mourinho and thinking, ‘didn’t see that, what a clever move by him’.

“You saw a manager at his best and his ability, and many, many other coaches I’ve seen do that. I don’t come away with that with Frank.

“I don’t think, ‘you know what, he got that spot on. He made subs at the right time, good decision on the full-backs’, the two wing-backs against Brighton were a disaster.”

Chelsea vs Real Madrid: Match facts

• Chelsea have lost two of their last three European matches against Real Madrid (W1), both in UEFA Champions League quarter-finals across the last two campaigns. They hadn’t lost any of their first five against them before this (W3 D2).
• Across the last two seasons, Chelsea’s only home UEFA Champions League defeat was against Real Madrid in April 2022 (W7 D1). No away team has ever won two Champions League games at Stamford Bridge against the Blues.
• Chelsea suffered a 2-0 defeat away at Real Madrid in the first leg of this tie. The Blues, however, have progressed from five of their last seven UEFA Champions League ties when losing the first leg away from home, and done so in each of the last two when losing by two clear goals (vs Napoli in 2011-12 and Paris Saint-Germain in 2013-14).
• Real Madrid have progressed from 18 of their 19 UEFA Champions League ties after winning the first leg by two or more goals, failing only in 2003-04 against Monaco in the quarter-final (4-2 first leg, 1-3 second leg, eliminated on away goals rule).
• Chelsea progressed from their last 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League this campaign despite losing the first leg against Borussia Dortmund. Since the last 16 was introduced in 2003-04, only two sides have reached the semi-final after overcoming first leg deficits in both the last 16 and quarter-final in a season: Monaco in 2003-04 and Roma in 2017-18.
• Real Madrid have won their last five UEFA Champions League knockout matches, their joint longest winning run in knockout games in the competition. All five wins have come against English teams, with only Barcelona (seven in a row between 2014 and 2016) having a longer winning run against English clubs.
• Each of Karim Benzema’s last 11 UEFA Champions League goals have come against English teams, while his last 14 have all been in the knockout stages of the competition, the longest such run by a player in Champions League history. Benzema has 14 goals and two assists for Real Madrid in his last nine appearances in the knockout stages.
• Vinícius Júnior has been involved in 20 goals in his last 20 UEFA Champions League appearances for Real Madrid, scoring 10 goals and assisting 10 goals in this time. Since the start of last season, the Brazilian is the only player to reach double figures for both goals and assists in the competition.
• Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández is one of only three players who have initiated 100+ sequences of play after recovering possession in the UEFA Champions League this season (101), along with Joshua Kimmich (110) and Stanislav Lobotka (105).
• Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has made more line-breaking passes (170) than any other player in the UEFA Champions League this season. Indeed, among players with 200+ passes completed, he also has the highest percentage of those being line-breaking passes (23.8%).