Thibaut Courtois is hoping to avoid the boos of the Chelsea fans as he returns to Stamford Bridge with Real Madrid on Wednesday night.
Los Blancos are eyeing a 14th European triumph this term after being knocked out in the semi-finals last season. It was Chelsea who ended their Champions League dream and they have again been drawn against the defending champions, who will host the first leg.
Madrid will travel to west London having lost 2-0 there on their last visit, but no fans were in attendance as stadiums remained empty due to the pandemic. Courtois spent four years as Chelsea No. 1 before he returned to Spain in 2018 and will head back to his old home hoping to avoid the jeers of the Blues fans.
"I hope that they (the fans) don’t boo me but you never know," Courtois told Marca. "I’m prepared for whatever comes and we’ll have to see how it goes. I hope it’s a happy return to Stamford Bridge. We’re now rivals. They’ll want to win and the same goes for me too and so I’m not expecting any applause from the fans."
Madrid last won the Champions League in 2018 when Zinedine Zidane was at the helm. Carlo Ancelotti, the man who masterminded the La Decima triumph in 2014, has returned for a second spell at the Bernabeu and has the Spanish side well placed domestically.
He is now looking to win a fourth Champions League, which would make him the tournament's most successful manager in his own right. Chelsea meanwhile are looking to become only the second team in the Champions League era to retain their crown - the other being Los Blancos.
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The Blues fans saw their team humiliated by newly-promoted Brentford on Saturday as the Bees secured a 4-1 victory. Thomas Tuchel is now seeking a response from his team but has not used last season's victory over Madrid as a reference point.
The German said: "I did not even look at it in preparation. That maybe answers the question. It’s a new coach, a new team, with spectators. There is no point to prove again or whatever, we are out to prove a point anyway to bounce back from Saturday’s performance. We want to play the right way, the way we want to play: physical, intense, focused."
He also added: "For us, it’s also a pretty special occasion. That’s why we also feel pretty excited. We don’t lose too much sleep about where they are in Europe. We want to prove a point to ourselves again, that’s the target. The occasion is special, the opponent is special, and that’s why we are very excited."
