Chelsea out for 'payback' against Real Madrid & can still 'do damage' in Champions League, insists USMNT star Christian Pulisic
- Chelsea played Real in last two seasons
- Face them again in this season's quarter-final
- Pulisic says Blues want revenge
WHAT HAPPENED? Chelsea will go to war with Real Madrid yet again in the Champions League quarter-finals, having lost to the Blancos at the same stage last season. And while the 2022-23 campaign so far has been a struggle for Chelsea, who have seen Frank Lampard return as interim manager after Graham Potter's sacking, Pulisic is backing the squad to put the current holders under pressure.
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WHAT THEY SAID: Speaking to Chelsea's official website, the USMNT winger said: "It seems like we have played them every year I have been here so it is a big team, we are excited, have beaten them in the past and are ready for the challenge.
"It could have gone either way for sure [in last season's defeat]. We want some payback and hopefully beat them. You have to beat some good teams if you want to win the Champions League so we are ready for it."
He added: "We are a confident team, we know we have good enough players to do some damage in this competition."
THE BIGGER PICTURE: Lampard returned to the dugout for the Blues at the weekend for the first time since taking the job of interim manager until the end of the season, but saw his side slip to a 1-0 defeat against Wolves. Considering Chelsea's nightmarish domestic season thus far, many believe Real will make light work of them over two legs.
Los Blancos narrowly edged past Chelsea in a 5-4 win on aggregate last season, in their run to eventually winning the Champions League for a record-extending 14th time.
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IN TWO PHOTOS:
WHAT NEXT? Lampard's side have been boosted by positive injury news and can avenge their weekend disappointment with a huge result away at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their last eight tie on Wednesday night.