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2022/23 UEFA Champions League
Quarter-finals
First leg
Real Madrid v Chelsea
Estadio Santiago Bernabeu
Manchester, England
Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Kick-off is at 19h00
Chelsea will be hoping the return of Frank Lampard can inspire them to victory over Real Madrid in the
UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, with the first leg taking place at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, April 12.
Lampard, who won the competition as a player in 2011-12, was handed the reins on an interim basis until the end of the season to replace the sacked Graham Potter on April 6.
The Blues legend had guided the English club to the last 16 in 2020-21 but was relieved of his duties on January 25 after a poor run of form in the Premier League, with Thomas Tuchel going on to win the Champions League with the west Londoners four months later.
It was their second title and Tuchel's side would bow out as champions to Real the following season in the last eight, meaning they meet at the same stage for the second year running.
Chelsea came back from a 1-0 deficit in the first leg to beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on aggregate in the first knockout round last month, although they are winless in their last three league outings.
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Los Blancos are the defending champions and will be pursuing a record 15th title. They are the only club to have won the European Cup five times in a row (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960) and the Champions League for three years running (2016, 2017, 2018).
Carlo Ancelotti's men knocked Liverpool out of the competition in the last 16, courtesy of a 5-2 hammering in England and a 1-0 win in Spain.
The Spanish champions are unlikely to defend their La Liga crown as they trail arch-rivals Barcelona by 12 points in second place but they reached the Copa del Rey final after recording a 4-1 aggregate victory over the Blaugrana in the last four.
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In team news, Ferland Mendy (muscular) is the only absentee for the hosts, while Armando Broja, Thiago Silva (both knee) and Cesar Azpilicueta (head) remain unavailable for the visitors.
Ancelotti spoke about the success of blending experience with youth this season as the likes of Vinicius Junior, Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo have performed brilliantly alongside veterans Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
"The players create the atmosphere thanks to their intelligence and humility. The veterans' humility is so important because they don't have egos," he said.
"Then it's also important that the young players are patient because they know they have guys who have had fantastic careers ahead of them."
Lampard is hoping to get all the Blues fans on board as he looks to get the capital club moving in the right direction for the remaining two months of the campaign.
"Without wanting it to sound too casual, I don't think I need to speak too much about my relationship with the Chelsea fans," he said.
"I played here for 13 years, I coached here, I had a lot of incredible moments and some difficult moments, because that's football, but from the moment I joined this club many years ago they've been a huge support to me and I'm forever thankful for that.
"So if I can be here, if I can help this club and we can come together, we can feel those days and nights at Stamford Bridge and feel the energy in this period of the season, that's what I'm here to try to do."
Head-to-Head (Previous Champions League Meetings)
Matches - 4
Real Madrid - 1
Chelsea - 2
Draws - 1
UEFA Champions League fixtures:
Tuesday, April 11
19h00: Benfica v Inter Milan
19h00: Manchester City v Bayern Munich
Wednesday, April 12
19h00: Real Madrid v Chelsea
19h00: AC Milan v Napoli
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