Arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, it's impossible to ignore it's a work in progress. The storied stadia stands out amongst the chaos of Madrid's main roads for moments of quiet in its shadows that extend further due to a walled perimeter that signals the significant renovation the ground is undergoing, with the expectation it will be complete sometime in 2023.
While the Bernabeu started its transformation in 2019, Chelsea have attempted theirs in less than a year. Changes behind the scenes, £600million in transfers and enough managerial changes for N'Golo Kante to play four consecutive games under four different coaches should he feature against the La Liga side on Wednesday night.
Results have not come as quickly under the new Chelsea ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital and the west London side sit in the bottom half of the Premier League, far and away from where aspirations lay at the start of the season. However, despite any misgivings, the club are still in contention in the Champions League and found success in 2012 and 2021 having changed managers during the season. Success will be judged in June, but Chelsea's fate could well be sealed in the next week.
