Antonio Rudiger reacts to Champions League draw handing him Chelsea reunion
Antonio Rudiger is looking forward to facing his former team, Chelsea, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. After spending five successful years at Chelsea, the 30-year-old defender moved to Real Madrid when his contract expired last summer.
Rudiger has been a regular player for Real Madrid, making 37 appearances in various competitions. Despite being nine points behind Barcelona in La Liga, Real Madrid has performed well in the Champions League, except for a loss to RB Leipzig.
They finished at the top of their group, beating Shakhtar Donetsk, Celtic, and RB Leipzig, and collecting 13 points out of a possible 18.
Real Madrid comfortably defeated Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the last-16, earning them a quarter-final matchup against Chelsea next month.
In the first leg at Anfield, Carlo Ancelotti’s team scored five goals against Liverpool before securing a 1-0 victory in Spain earlier this week. On the other hand, Graham Potter’s Chelsea narrowly progressed past Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on aggregate, with goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz.
Following the draw, Rudiger expressed his excitement on social media and is looking forward to facing his former team for the first time.
“This will be very special – Can’t wait to see so many friends again,” he posted on Twitter on Friday
Many Chelsea supporters showed their support and appreciation for Rudiger’s post. However, some fans also made it clear to the defender that they would still be eager to defeat his team in the quarter-finals.
In addition to Rudiger, Real Madrid also has two other former Chelsea players on their team – Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard, who joined in 2018 and 2019, respectively. Mateo Kovacic will also face his former team once again, as he has done in the previous two seasons.
During his pre-Everton press conference on Friday afternoon, Potter talked about Chelsea’s draw and expressed his anticipation for the upcoming two-legged match against Real Madrid.
“The feeling is excitement. I’ve said we will try to win the Champions League and that’s the same for the other seven clubs in the draw I’m sure,” said Potter.
Although Potter is looking forward to the quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, he emphasized that his primary focus at the moment is on Chelsea’s Premier League campaign.
Potter added: “We will focus on Real Madrid when we get there but at the moment our thoughts are on tomorrow and Everton. I’d rather focus on Everton because the other stuff is a long way away.”
Chelsea has four important Premier League games to play before their first-leg match against Real Madrid on April 11. These games include matches against Everton, Aston Villa, Liverpool, and Wolves.
The team is looking to close the gap on the top four positions in the Premier League, as they are currently 11 points behind Tottenham, who occupies the fourth spot in the table.
Antonio Rudiger reacts to Champions League draw handing him Chelsea reunion
