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Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic is optimistic about the Blues beating Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. Los Blancos will host the first leg of the tie on Wednesday, April 12.
The two sides will face each other for the third season in a row in the Champions League. Chelsea won their semifinal clash in the 2020-21 season and went on to lift the trophy, beating Manchester City in the final.
Real Madrid then beat the Blues in the quarterfinals last season en route to lifting the Champions League trophy for a record 14th time.
Ahead of their first leg clash at the Santiago Bernabeu, Pulisic stressed that his side are ready for the challenge as he said (via GOAL):
"It seems like we have played them every year I have been here so it is a big team, we are excited, have beaten them in the past and are ready for the challenge."
He added:
"It could have gone either way for sure [in last season's defeat]. We want some payback and hopefully beat them. You have to beat some good teams if you want to win the Champions League so we are ready for it. We are a confident team, we know we have good enough players to do some damage in this competition."
Real Madrid and Chelsea's 2022-23 campaign so far
Real Madrid currently trail arch-rivals Barcelona by a massive 13 games in the La Liga title race. With just 10 league games remaining in the season, they seem unlikely to defend their title.
The Blaugrana also beat Los Blancos in the Supercopa de Espana final earlier in the season. Real Madrid, however, did win the Club World Cup. They have also reached the final of the Copa del Rey, beating Barcelona in the semifinals. They will face Osasuna in the summit clash.
Chelsea, meanwhile, have had a disappointing season. The club's new owners sacked Thomas Tuchel back in September and replaced him with Graham Potter, who was also recently sacked and has been replaced by Frank Lampard on an interim basis.
The Blues are currently 11th in the Premier League table, a massive 34 points behind leaders Arsenal. They were eliminated from both domestic cup competitions by Manchester City.
The Champions League remains Chelsea's only chance of winning silverware this season. A title win will also ensure they qualify for the competition next season.
