By Nathaniel Kay

'They're not as good': Jamie Carragher shares who he thinks is the better team - Chelsea or Real Madrid

Jamie Carragher still believes Chelsea are a better team than Real Madrid despite their Champions League result.

Speaking on the Overlap Live Fan Debate, Carragher questioned Madrid’s quality ahead of the potentially epic European showdown with Liverpool this Saturday.

Are Chelsea actually better than Real Madrid?

Carlo Ancelotti will be aiming to complete a tremendous double on the weekend, when he stands toe-to-toe with Jurgen Klopp in France.

Having already won La Liga by some margin, Los Blancos must now set their sights on a 14^th European title.

Arguably, they exerted less energy across a 38-game domestic season than they did in a dozen Champions League fixtures.

Madrid pretty much strolled to the league, beating second-placed Barcelona by 13 points and losing just four times in the process.

Meanwhile, they have already lost four times in football’s grandest domestic knockout competition.

Ancelotti’s men were stunned by Moldovan minnows Sherriff in the group stage, losing 2-1 on home soil.

Paris Saint-Germain then beat the Spaniards 1-0 in the round of 16 first-leg, before a Karim Benzema-inspired comeback completely turned the tie on its head in the reverse contest.

Benzema incredibly secured a second successive hattrick in the tournament at Stamford Bridge, where a 20-minute period pretty much destroyed Thomas Tuchel’s side.

Chelsea almost accomplished their own epic turnaround, grabbing three goals at the Bernabeu to put them on the brink of qualification.

But a Rodrygo volley and another moment of Benzema brilliance ensured it was the Whites, rather than the Blues, who push on to the semi-final.

There, the Spanish champions met Manchester City, who should’ve been home and dry had a fantastic Frenchman not provided the goods once again.

Manchester City make way for Madrid

City and Madrid played out a highly entertaining match at the Etihad that ended 4-3 in favour of the hosts.

Riyad Mahrez’s strike in the 73^rd minute in the second-leg look to have sealed Pep Guardiola’s passage to the final.

However, in more stunning circumstances, Rodrygo bagged a 90th and 91st-minute brace to send the encounter to extra time.

And guess who delivered the killer blow to crush City’s hearts? Benzema, of course.

Now, after all the drama and excitement, Madrid need to ready themselves once more, with Liverpool revving their engines.

According to Carragher, the final scoreline should go the way of his former employers.

“This Real Madrid are a very good team, but they are not as good as Manchester City, I don’t think they are as good as Chelsea, even though they’ve beat them,” said the ex-defender.

“You can spin it both ways with the spirit, the coming back, they’ve carried a lot of luck in those games.”

Chelsea were most certainly the better outfit in the Spanish capital, whilst City should’ve progressed.

But it’s Madrid who made it and it’s Madrid who get a shot at the silverware.

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Nathaniel Kay

"Nathaniel is a football journalist who graduated from the University of Derby. He worked at Burton Albion as part of their media team for two years. Nathaniel produced regular articles for the club’s official website and match-day programme. He covered the 2018 U20 Women’s World Cup in Brittany and has reported from grounds ranging from non-league up to the Premier League. Nathaniel is a full-time writer for the Chelsea Chronicle, and was formerly their social media man. His footballing career reached the sparkling heights of winning the Under-13s Bloxham Tournament in 2011."