Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso has agreed with Premier League legend Sergio Aguero that there are no favourites for the Champions League clash against Real Madrid. He has also sent a further warning to Toni Kroos, who backed Los Blancos to knock out the current European and world champions this time round.
Both teams are heading into the rematch of last season's Champions League semi-final in very different form. Carlo Ancelotti is under massive pressure in the Spanish capital after the most recent El Clasico thrashing coupled with handling of certain players like Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic has led for certain calls to change the former Chelsea manager. Meanwhile, since the sanctions were handed to the Blues, the current world and European champions have strung together six wins on the bounce in all competitions, which has them as favourites to progress from the Champions League quarter-final.
Despite this, Thomas Tuchel says the task ahead is a difficult one for his side, who have seen Los Blancos' resilience after they overturned a first-leg deficit to knock out Mauricio Pochettino's Paris Saint-Germain side. "Tough one. The challenge cannot be much higher than playing the second leg in Bernabeu with spectators [as things stand]. It's a big challenge, but it's also a big excitement around this match, around this fixture. So we know what's coming and it will be an exciting match and a tough challenge," he revealed ahead of Middlesbrough.
