Real Madrid have a lot to prove to their supporters and to the world in the Champions League this Wednesday. Nobody has forgotten their 4-0 defeat to rivals Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu, especially since Los Blancos could have easily lost by even more. Compounding matters, their opponents in the quarterfinals of the Champions League are the very same side that thoroughly outplayed them in last year’s semifinals.
Although Chelsea themselves are coming off an embarrassing loss with four goals surrendered, they are evenly matched with the Merengues in terms of talent and may hold a psychological advantage after what they did to Madrid in 2020/21.
There is no doubt that this will be an exciting, difficult tie for both teams. Let’s have a look at three individual matchups that will define the first leg at Stamford Bridge between LaLiga leaders Real Madrid and Premier League stalwarts Chelsea.
Real Madrid LW Vinicius Jr. vs. Chelsea RB Reece James
While I find the media’s focus on Vinicius Jr.’s decrease in goals and assists to be quite misleading, the basic facts that they repeat are indeed true. Vini has provided just 6 of his 20 goal contributions this season since the calendar turned.
The stats are true, but the narrative is misleading. I don’t buy that Vinicius has suddenly gotten worse or that his performances in the openings months were a fluke. He is still very good and of extreme importance to Real Madrid’s success. However, he has become quite isolated tactically, as we saw in two recent poor performances against Celta Vigo and Barcelona in LaLiga.
Defending a player like Vinicius is a team effort, but the main player he will go up against is one of the world’s best right backs, Reece James. Like Vinicius, James is a great young player in the midst of a career year, having broken out as a world-class starter in his own right.
James has the footballing intelligence and athletic ability to hang with Vini, while still providing an attacking threat, especially in the structure provided by the Chelsea back three.
Vinicius needs help from Ferland Mendy and his teammates. Real Madrid cannot afford to have him swarmed by defenders, as has been the case in several matches this year. But even if he can get isolated with James one-on-one, that is no guarantee Vini will win the battle. A great attacker like Vini is usually favored in these situations, but given that James has never been dribbled past in this year’s Champions League, even the Brazilian could have trouble.