Five ways in which Chelsea can beat Real Madrid

Thomas Tuchel will have seen weaknesses his side should exploit in the Spanish club’s tie against Liverpool

Attack their right flank

The main weakness Zinedine Zidane’s team showed against Liverpool at Anfield was down their right flank, where they had Federico Valverde playing out of position due to Lucas Vazquez’s knee injury. Thomas Tuchel must play Ben Chilwell for his speed and forget about the rotation that has seen Marcos Alonso back. Chilwell will get into attacking positions like Andy Robertson did and will need to have an understanding with his leftsided forward, which is likely to be Timo Werner or Christian Pulisic.

Sadio Mane enjoyed success down that flank and with better finishing from his team-mates Liverpool would have pulled a goal back in the first couple of minutes.

Cut the supply to Kroos

The damage against Liverpool was done in the first leg on Real Madrid’s training ground pitch. They failed to press high up the pitch when Toni Kroos was on the ball and the masterful German was able to pick his long passes upfield, leading to two first-half goals.

Chelsea’s front three will be their first line of defence and must make sure paths are blocked off so Real cannot find Kroos, nor can he be given any time. Liverpool’s tactical tweak worked in the second leg, in which he was less effective, even though that meant Luka Modric and Casemiro could influence the game.

Use an out-an-out centre-forward

Zidane had his defence and midfield in a compact unit that was very difficult to break down. Chelsea will find more success with a No9 stretching their defence and putting pressure on their centre-backs. Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane were missing against Liverpool after testing positive for Covid-19 and either of them returning will make the job tougher with a “false nine”.

It would be a shift in tactics for Tuchel, who has used Kai Havertz as his striker. Timo Werner has also played there and the last time he played Olivier Giroud was against Sheffield United. Giroud would cause Real problems, as would the pace of Tammy Abraham, even though the England striker appears out of favour at the moment.

Make positive early subs

James Milner felt Liverpool lost momentum with the timing of their substitutes. “With a few of the substitutions, sometimes you lose your way for a few minutes. Maybe it just cost us a few minutes,” said Milner.

Assessing where the tie is heading and making decisive changes earlier in the second half would be a positive move from Tuchel. If Real are showing weakness in an area, exploit it as soon as possible.

Unleash Kante

The most important battle of the tie will be N’golo Kante and Casemiro in midfield. Casemiro made the most tackles in the second leg against Liverpool and topped the list for possession gained by a player.

The Brazilian showed his range of passing too, as he and Modric displayed their class in tight spaces.

Kante will be the key to overwhelming Real’s experienced midfield. He is more than just a destroyer but it will be down to him to win tackles and pick up loose balls before starting Chelsea attacks.