Real Madrid: Three keys to victory against Chelsea

Real Madrid will travel to Stamford Bridge this week to take on Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. Los Blancos played out a 1-1 draw with the Blues last week, though any honest observer will plainly state that Real are lucky to have survived unscathed. They were flat-out awful for stretches of the first half.

But in the end, Los Blancos made it out alive and now have more fit players available for Wednesday night’s clash.

Let’s take a look at three keys to victory for Real Madrid in the second leg.

Control the midfield

I was tempted to write this in all caps. Yeah, it’s obvious, but it’s time for Real Madrid to step up, execute, and do the obvious. Los Blancos cannot allow Chelsea to run free, which is exactly what Thomas Tuchel’s side did last week. N’Golo Kante made the best midfield on this planet look like the second coming of Schalke 04; he absolutely owned the show.

Chelsea have a great midfield. Kante is world-class. Jorginho is very underrated. And Mateo Kovacic is coming back. If Mason Mount slides back to midfield, he’s another huge threat.

But Real Madrid? Their midfield is more proven than any other trio in this game. Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro aren’t just world-class; they are legitimately the best players at each of their roles. Kroos and Modric were unable to show their class for the full 90 minutes, since they were playing through injuries and not even close to 100 percent.

Now that they are rested after playing 0 minutes in the win over Osasuna, it is time for them to shine. The key man in achieving this task of control is Kroos.