Madrid: Real Madrid cruised into the semifinals of the Champions League on Tuesday night, with a 2-0 win away to Chelsea giving them a 4-0 aggregate against their rivals.
While the defeat merely served to confirm the chaos of Chelsea’s current season and the huge rebuilding that lies ahead, it also highlights Real Madrid’s dominance in the Champions League, where they have reached the last-four in 11 of the past 13 seasons.
However, it was not all good news on Tuesday night, with Madrid possibly losing two key players for the semifinal, which will be against the winner of Wednesday’s return leg between Bayern Munich and Manchester City (where the English club defended a 3-0 first leg lead).
Key central defender Eder Militao was booked in the 21st minute of the game and that means he is suspended for the first leg of the semifinal. Militao has been in fine form all season for Madrid, with his pace and power in the air vital for their defensive record, a Xinhua report said.
Militao’s suspension became even more significant when David Alaba didn’t return to the pitch for the start of the second half. The Austrian suffered a problem with his left hamstring, which had troubled him earlier in the year. He was replaced by Antonio Rudiger and although the club has to carry out complete tests, it seems unlikely he will be fit for the semi-finals.
“Militao won’t play the first leg of the semi-final, but I hope Alaba will be able to recover. He has a problem with his hamstring and we changed him at the end of the first half,” said Ancelotti, who added that striker Karim Benzema had also suffered. “A knock to his foot which began to give him a few problems and we changed him.”
Benzema’s foot problem is not considered serious, but possibly facing Manchester City’s goal-machine, Erling Haaland, without Alaba and Militao (as well as injured left-back Ferland Mendy), would be an issue for Madrid.
–IANS