Kepa Arrizabalaga, goalkeeper for Chelsea, has explained what his squad needs do to defeat Real Madrid.
After the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final in Madrid, the Blues trail 2-0.
According to a report on the club’s website, Kepa was quick to dismiss the notion that the Chelsea team would need a miraculous performance to overcome a 2-0 deficit against Real Madrid.
However, in outlining what would be required to advance to the semi-finals, the goalkeeper made it obvious that the players understood an improvement on what had come before.
Better performance “Obviously, we need to improve on our performance at the Bernabeu.”
“We need to control their counter-attacks better, we need to spend more time with the ball, and we definitely need to create more chances,” Kepa stated.
More objectives
“We need to score more goals and be more clinical in both penalty areas.” This, I believe, will be critical.
“It won’t be easy, but I don’t think we’ll need the performance of our lives.” We certainly need a solid performance, we need to play at our best, and we can’t overthink,” he remarked.
Step-by-step
“We have to go step by step, defend well, attack well, and play a great game,” Kepa said.
There is no emphasis on a single player.
When asked if there was a special plan in place to deal with Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior, Kepa answered that focusing too much on one player would not open up the possibility of other individuals, thus the game plan needed to be more generic.
“We need to push to keep them in their own half; that is something we can work on tomorrow,” said the 28-year-old, who cited last season’s second leg in Madrid as a source of confidence. That was when the Blues clawed back from a 3-1 setback at the Bridge to be 10 minutes away from advancing, only to lose 5-4 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid has released their squad list for Tuesday’s match against Chelsea, as the team prepares for the return leg of the Champions League Quarterfinals at Stamford Bridge.
The two heavyweights are set to clash at 8 p.m. today, with Chelsea coach Frank Lampard hoping to guide the Blues to victory.
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