Gary Cahill thinks the experience of players such as Thiago Silva and Mateo Kovacic will be vital for Chelsea tonight against Real Madrid.
Chelsea welcome Madrid to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night in the Champions League. For the Blues, they know their season rests on this quarter-final tie.
Frank Lampard’s side suffered a 2-0 defeat in last week’s first leg out in Madrid, so it’ll take something quite special tonight to eliminate the Spanish giants from the European competition.
However, optimistic Blues supporters will still hold a gimmer of hope at the Bridge.
Cahill, who previously won the Champions League as a Chelsea player, has been speaking ahead of tonight’s quarter-final.
He highlighted Thiago Silva and Mateo Kovacic as two key individuals this evening.
“The tie is set up. To come away with the sending off and 2-0 the first goal is key and it’ll be electric in the stadium. It’s been done before so could be a great game. Managing the game is key – Thiago Silva, Mateo Kovacic, these kinds of players will know how to manage different moments of the match – but it’s all about the first goal,” Cahill said, as quoted by The Independent.
Silva, 38, was given the afternoon off to rest during Saturday’s 2-1 defeat against Brighton in the Premier League.
We have included Silva in our predicted Chelsea line-up to face Madrid on Tuesday night.
As for Kovacic, the 28-year-old Blues midfielder dropped to the bench against Brighton and played a 30-minute cameo.
They’re two of Chelsea’s most experienced individuals when it comes to playing on Europe’s biggest stage, but most of this squad were involved in winning the Champions League competition a couple of years ago.
It may take a near-faultless performance from Chelsea to upset Madrid tonight.
Receive a digest of our best Chelsea content each week direct to your mailbox
