Marcos Alonso is keen to leave Chelsea this summer. (imago Images)
In conversation with Diario AS (h/t Football.London), Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso made an interesting admission ahead of their UEFA Champions League clash with Real Madrid. He also sent a warning to Los Blancos midfielder Toni Kroos who backed his side to knock out the West Londoners this time around.
The Spaniard has played a crucial role for us this season with the long-term absence of Ben Chilwell who was slowly starting to cement his place in this Chelsea lineup. Alonso has filled in quite capably making 34 appearances for the Blues so far this campaign scoring two goals and bagging four assists in the process.
The Stamford Bridge outfit made a stunning start to life under Thomas Tuchel who guided the club to the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Super Cup subsequently. The London-based club then went on to lift their first-ever FIFA Club World Cup in February this year.
Chelsea have enjoyed a fair bit of success recently but mounting injury scares coupled with all the fear and chaos due to the current sanctions on the club have added an extra layer of difficulty to an already tough business end of the campaign.
Speaking to Diario AS (h/t Football.London), Chelsea wing-back Alonso has reiterated what the Blues are capable of doing. He also went on to highlight that it would be a difficult tie against the Spanish club and there are no clear-cut winners as of yet.
“We already showed last year what we are capable of. It’s a different year, another moment, but we’re facing two great teams and we’ll try to give everything to reach the semi-finals. I think there are no favourites. At this point, any team is complicated and it will be a beautiful and difficult tie for sure. Let’s leave it there, at 50% chance for each.”
Whilst the Spanish giants have looked a bit shaky in recent memory if we have learnt one thing from the past is that you never write them off. They may have faced an embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in El Classico very recently but the CL still remains one of their favourite tournaments of the lot having picked up the coveted European trophy 13 times in their illustrious career.
The Blues did manage to get past them the last time and would be looking to recreate that feat once more. The knockout stages of the UCL are always a tense affair and the Santiago Bernabeu outfit can haunt you even if you give them a slight opportunity which was evident in their second leg victory over PSG.
The West Londoners would thus have to err on the side of caution and put on their best against a team that is used to playing at the elite level. Thomas Tuchel will also be worried about his squad rotation as they are competing on several fronts at the moment.
The off-field chatter can also make it hard to focus on football at the moment, but the German manager has shown great grit and determination in the face of all the uncertainties that have been thrust upon the club. Alonso has also admitted that the club from Madrid is very dangerous and many people in our fanbase would be echoing the same concerns.
Chelsea have shown great determination to trot out one victory after another in recent games. That being said, most of our opponents in these fixtures did not have the calibre of this Real Madrid team. Every Blues player will have to be on their A-game if they are to get across the line against Los Blancos and advance to the next round of the competition.
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