Chelsea trio return to training ahead of the crunch clash against Real Madrid

Chelsea trio return to training ahead of the clash against Real Madrid

According to the Athletic (subscription required), Chelsea trio Kai Havertz, N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva return to training ahead of the clash against Real Madrid on Tuesday at Stamford Bridge.

After losing the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final tie by two goals, the Blues need a miracle to turn that score around and go through to the semi-final.

Not only their form is bad, but it does not seem like they would score a goal ever. Chances were at a premium at the Bernabeu, and things were pretty much same the same against Brighton and Hove Albion on Saturday.

Amidst all the doom and gloom, it is good to see Havertz, Kante and Silva training and being available for the second leg. The trio were not part of the match-day squad against Brighton. So, they must be fresh and ready to perform well and give their team a glimmer of hope to beat Madrid.

While that is good news, we already know that Ben Chilwell is out from this game after picking up a straight red card in the first leg. Kalidou Koulibaly picked up a hamstring injury that night and is out for a few weeks.

It would be interesting to see how Frank Lampard sets his team up. Opening the game up too early may play it into the hands of the European champions, who are probably the best team in scoring goals from counter-attacks. Vinicius Jr is a menace when offered any kind of space in transition.

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The plan could be to stay in the game by the 30-minute mark and then maybe use the power of the Bridge to push the opponents back. They have to be clinical in front of the goal because there won’t be a plethora of chances to score.