Chelsea vs Real Madrid: UEFA Champions League background, form guide, previous meetings

Chelsea welcome Real Madrid to Stamford Bridge for the concluding leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final with the tie finely poised after an engrossing first game in Spain.

• The English side struck first at Madrid's Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano on 27 April, Christian Pulišić opening the scoring in the 14th minute to become the first American to find the net in a UEFA Champions League semi-final. The home side were level 15 minutes later thanks to Karim Benzema's volley that ensured the sides would head to England on level terms.

• Both clubs have enjoyed plenty of UEFA Champions League success although this is Madrid's first appearance in the last four since 2018, when they claimed their 13th European Cup, and Chelsea last reached the semi-finals in 2014, when they were ousted by Real Madrid's neighbours Atlético, who went on to lose an all-Madrid final.

• The teams have already tasted knockout success against clubs from their opponents' country in this season's competition. Madrid knocked out English champions Liverpool in the quarter-finals; in the previous round, Chelsea had won both legs against Atlético.

Previous meetings
• The teams had met in only three previous fixtures before the first leg of this tie – in two UEFA finals which were both won by Chelsea, who are therefore still unbeaten against Madrid. Their last meeting before this tie came in the 1998 UEFA Super Cup in Monaco, when a Gustavo Poyet goal seven minutes from time at the Stade Louis II gave UEFA Cup Winners' Cup holders Chelsea victory against Madrid, who had qualified by winning the UEFA Champions League.

• The English club also came out on top in the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup final against Madrid in Piraeus. The first game finished 1-1, Peter Osgood's 56th-minute goal at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium cancelled out in the final minute by Ignacio Zoco.

• Two days later at the same stadium, first-half goals from John Dempsey (31) and Osgood again (39) earned Chelsea their first European trophy despite Sebastián Fleitas pulling one back for Madrid 15 minutes from time.

Form guide
Chelsea
• Chelsea's record in European Cup semi-finals is W2 L7:
2003/04 Monaco L 3-5 (1-3 a, 2-2 h)
2004/05 Liverpool L 0-1 (0-0 h, 0-1 a)
2006/07 Liverpool L 1-4 on penalties (1-0 h, 0-1 a)
2007/08 Liverpool W 4-3 (1-1 a, 3-2 h)
2008/09 Barcelona L 1-1 away goals (0-0 a, 1-1 h)
2011/12 Barcelona W 3-2 (1-0 h, 2-2 a)
2013/14 Atlético de Madrid L 1-3 (0-0 a, 1-3 h)

• This is Chelsea's 14th UEFA competition semi-final; their record is W6 L7.

• This season, Chelsea made smooth progress through Group E, winning all three away games and dropping points only in their first and last fixtures, at home to Sevilla (0-0) and Krasnodar (1-1) respectively. Rennes were beaten 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and on their travels the English club picked up maximum points at Krasnodar (4-0), Rennes (2-1) and Sevilla (4-0); the latter result made sure of first place in the section, Olivier Giroud becoming the first Chelsea player to score four times in a European Cup match – and at 34 years 63 days the oldest hat-trick scorer in UEFA Champions League history.

• With Thomas Tuchel having replaced Frank Lampard as head coach, Chelsea then eased past Real Madrid's city rivals Atlético in the round of 16, winning 1-0 in Bucharest before a 2-0 home victory, and held off Porto in the last eight (2-0 a, 0-1 h) with both matches played in Seville.

• Fourth in the Premier League in 2019/20, this is Chelsea's 17th venture into the UEFA Champions League and a third in four years. The exception came in 2018/19, when they won the UEFA Europa League under Maurizio Sarri.

• Last season Lampard's side recovered from a Matchday 1 defeat at home to Valencia (0-1) to progress as Group H runners-up with 11 points, finishing behind the Spanish side on head-to-head record, before losing to eventual champions Bayern München (0-3 h, 1-4 a) in the last 16.

• This season's seven victories have made it ten wins in Chelsea's last 18 UEFA Champions League matches (D5 L3).

• Chelsea have won only three of their last nine European matches at Stamford Bridge (D4 L2).

• European champions in 2012 having been runners-up four years earlier, Chelsea have now won their UEFA Champions League group 12 times, although they were runners-up in their section on each of their previous two participations before this season.

• Last season's home loss to Valencia was one of only four defeats in the Blues' last 29 matches against Spanish opponents overall (W10 D15). Before Matchday 5 this season, the Blues had won only one of their previous 11 fixtures against Liga clubs, home and away (D6 L4); they had won three in a row before being held at Madrid, which also ended a run of four straight clean sheets against Liga clubs.

• The win at home to Atlético ended Chelsea's five-match run without a win against Spanish visitors at Stamford Bridge (D3 L2).

• Chelsea have played 12 two-legged knockout ties against Spanish clubs (W5 L7), the last before beating Atlético this season in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League round of 16 when they lost 3-0 at Barcelona in the second leg to go down 4-1 overall.

• The London club were unbeaten in their first five home knockout games against Spanish teams in UEFA competition (W4 D1) but have managed only two victories in the seven subsequent matches (D3 L2).

• Tuchel is unbeaten as a head coach against Spanish clubs (W3 D4).

• In UEFA competition Chelsea have won the tie five times on the nine occasions they have drawn their first leg away from home, although they have lost the last two, against Madrid's city rivals Atlético in the 2013/14 semi-finals (0-0 a, 1-3 h) and on away goals against Paris Saint-Germain in the 2014/15 round of 16 (1-1 a, 2-2 h aet). That was Chelsea's sixth tie in which they had drawn the first game 1-1 away, and their first aggregate defeat.

• Chelsea's record in six UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L4:
1-4 v Liverpool, 2006/07 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-6 v Manchester United, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League final
4-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League final
4-5 v Bayern München, 2013 UEFA Super Cup
4-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt, 2018/19 UEFA Europa League semi-final
4-5 v Liverpool, 2019 UEFA Super Cup

Real Madrid
• This is Madrid's 30th European Cup semi-final overall, with the record W16 L13:
1955/56 AC Milan W 5-4 (4-2 h, 1-2 a)
1956/57 Manchester United W 5-3 (3-1 h, 2-2 a)
1957/58 Vasas W 4-2 (4-0 h, 0-2 a)
1958/59 Atlético de Madrid W 2-1 replay (2-1 h, 0-1 a)
1959/60 Barcelona W 6-2 (3-1 h, 3-1 a)
1961/62 Standard Liège W 6-0 (4-0 h, 2-0 a)
1963/64 Zürich W 8-1 (2-1 a, 6-0 h)
1965/66 Internazionale W 2-1 (1-0 h, 1-1 a)
1967/68 Manchester United L 3-4 (0-1 a, 3-3 h)
1972 73 Ajax L 1-3 (1-2 a, 0-1 h)
1975/76 Bayern München L 1-3 (1-1 h, 0-2 a)
1979/80 Hamburg L 3-5 (2-0 h, 1-5 a)
1980/81 Internazionale W 2-1 (2-0 h, 0-1 a)
1986/87 Bayern München L 2-4 (1-4 a, 1-0 h)
1987/88 PSV Eindhoven L 1-1 away goals (1-1 h, 0-0 a)
1988/89 AC Milan L 1-6 (1-1 h, 0-5 a)
1997/98 Borussia Dortmund W 2-0 (2-0 h, 0-0 a)
1999/00 Bayern München W 3-2 (2-0 h, 1-2 a)
2000/01 Bayern München L 1-3 (0-1 h, 1-2 a)
2001/02 Barcelona W 3-1 (2-0 a, 1-1 h)
2002/03 Juventus L 3-4 (2-1 h, 1-3 a)
2010/11 Barcelona L 1-3 (0-2 h, 1-1 a)
2011/12 Bayern München, L 1-3 on penalties (1-2 a, 2-1 h)
2012/13 Borussia Dortmund L 3-4 (1-4 a, 2-0 h)
2013/14 Bayern München W 5-0 (1-0 h, 4-0 a)
2014/15 Juventus L 2-3 (1-2 a, 1-1 h)
2015/16 Manchester City W 1-0 (0-0 a, 1-0 h)
2016/17 Atlético de Madrid W 4-2 (3-0 h, 1-2 a)
2017/18 Bayern München W 4-3 (2-1 a, 2-2 h)

• Madrid have won their last three semi-final ties, having lost five of the previous six.

• This is Madrid's 14th appearance in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, a competition record, two more than Barcelona and Bayern.

• The Spanish side collected six of their ten points in this season's group stage against Internazionale, who they beat 3-2 at home and 2-0 away. They took only one point from their first two Group B games, losing 3-2 at home to Shakhtar Donetsk before late goals from Benzema (87) and Casemiro (90+3) rescued a 2-2 draw at Borussia Mönchengladbach on Matchday 2. The wins against Inter were followed by a 2-0 loss at Shakhtar, but Mönchengladbach were then beaten by the same scoreline in the final round of group games.

• Madrid therefore finished first in their group for only the second time in the last five seasons but for the 17th time in all, second only to Barcelona (21).

• Zinédine Zidane's side then beat Atalanta away (1-0) and at home (3-1) in the round of 16 to reach their first quarter-final since 2017/18. They ousted Chelsea's domestic rivals Liverpool in the last eight (3-1 h, 0-0 a).

• Madrid have won six of their last nine UEFA Champions League matches (D2 L1) having managed one victory in their previous six (D2 L3). They have lost seven of their last 22 games in the competition (W10 D5).

• Spanish champions for a record-extending 34th time in 2019/20, this is Madrid's 25th UEFA Champions League campaign – a joint record along with Barcelona. They have qualified for the knockout rounds in all of their 25 seasons, also a competition best.

• This is the 13-time champions' 51st European Cup campaign, more than any other side.

• In 2019/20, Zidane's team were runners-up in their section behind eventual finalists Paris Saint-Germain, finishing five points behind the French club. Their campaign came to an end in the round of 16 as they lost 2-1 home and away to Manchester City.

• Having reached the semi-finals or better for eight successive seasons between 2010/11 and 2017/18, that was Madrid's second successive last-16 elimination having bowed out against Ajax in 2018/19.

• Benzema's goal on Matchday 2 means he has matched the record of Lionel Messi in scoring in 16 successive UEFA Champions League campaigns.

• Benzema's equaliser in the first leg was his 71st UEFA Champions League goal, putting him joint fourth in the competition's all-time scoring charts alongside former Madrid forward Raúl González.

• Madrid's record in two-legged knockout ties against English clubs is W9 L5; they have won four of the last five, the exception last season's defeat by Manchester City.

• The Merengues are without a win in their last four away games against English clubs, at Manchester City twice and Tottenham in the 2017/18 group stage (1-3) before this season's draw at Liverpool. The defeat at Tottenham was Madrid's first loss to English opposition since a 4-0 reverse at Liverpool in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League round of 16 and ended their five-match unbeaten run in England (W3 D2). Madrid's overall away record against English clubs is W6 D5 L7.

• Madrid have been held at home in the first leg of nine previous UEFA competition ties – all in the European Cup – and have recorded only two aggregate victories, both against Manchester United, in 1999/2000 (0-0 h, 3-2 a) and 2012/13. The second of those ties, the most recent occasion on which they drew at home first, was the fifth time the opening leg had finished 1-1 and Madrid's first aggregate victory (2-1 a). Three of the four previous instances had been in semi-finals – against Bayern in 1975/76 (0-2 a), PSV Eindhoven in 1987/88 (0-0 a) and AC Milan in 1988/89 (0-5 a).

• Madrid's record in four UEFA penalty shoot-outs is W2 L2:
5-6 v Crvena zvezda, 1974/75 European Cup Winners' Cup quarter-final
3-1 v Juventus, 1986/87 European Champion Clubs' Cup second round
1-3 v Bayern München, 2011/12 UEFA Champions League semi-final
5-3 v Atlético de Madrid, 2015/16 UEFA Champions League final

Links and trivia
• Tuchel twice took on Madrid with Paris in last season's group stage; his side won 3-0 in France before scoring twice in the final ten minutes to earn a 2-2 draw in Spain after Benzema's double.

• Eden Hazard was a Chelsea player between 2012 and joining Madrid in 2019, scoring 110 goals in 352 games in all competitions. He helped the club win Premier League titles in 2014/15 and 2016/17, the FA Cup in 2017/18 and the English League Cup in 2014/15, in addition to their victories in the 2013 and 2019 UEFA Europa League finals. The latter match, in which he scored twice in a 4-1 defeat of Arsenal, was his last for Chelsea.

• Thibaut Courtois made 154 appearances for Chelsea between 2014 and 2018, when he moved to Madrid. He was also part of the Premier League-winning sides in 2014/15 and 2016/17, and the team that won the FA Cup in 2017/18 and the English League Cup in 2014/15.

• Mateo Kovačić joined Chelsea from Madrid in 2018. He had signed for the Spanish side in 2015 and was an unused substitute in their UEFA Champions League final victories in 2017 and 2018 having missed out on the matchday squad for their 2016 final triumph. He did feature in their 2016 UEFA Super Cup defeat of Sevilla and was on the bench when Manchester United were beaten in the same competition a year later. Kovačić was also in Madrid's victorious squads in the 2016 and 2017 FIFA Club World Cup and the 2016/17 Spanish Liga and Super Cup.

• Born in Madrid, Marcos Alonso joined the club in 1999 and came through the youth system, making one Liga appearance in 2010 before leaving that summer.

• Have also played in Spain:
Kepa (Athletic Club 2014–18, Ponferradina 2015 loan, Valladolid 2015/16 loan)
César Azpilicueta (Osasuna 2001–10)
Willy Caballero (Elche 2004–11, Málaga 2011–14)

• Has also played in England:
Luka Modrić (Tottenham 2008–12)

• International team-mates:
Mateo Kovačić & Luka Modrić (Croatia)
N'Golo Kanté, Olivier Giroud, Kurt Zouma & Raphaël Varane (France)
Thiago Silva & Vinícius Júnior, Casemiro (Brazil)
Kepa & Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos (Spain)
Kai Havertz, Antonio Rüdiger, Timo Werner & Toni Kroos (Germany)

• Kanté, Giroud and Varane were in the starting line-up as France defeated Modrić's Croatia 4-2 in the 2018 FIFA World Cup final. Kovačić was an unused substitute.

Latest news

Chelsea
• The quarter-final second-leg loss to Porto is Chelsea's only defeat in their last eight matches in all competitions (W5 D2). They were 2-0 winners at home to Fulham on Saturday.

• Kai Havertz scored both goals at the weekend; seven of his eight goals for Chelsea have come at Stamford Bridge, though those were his first at the stadium in the Premier League since October.

• Chelsea have kept 11 clean sheets in their 15 Premier League matches under Thomas Tuchel.

• Chelsea were unbeaten in 15 games (W11 D4) before a 5-2 defeat at home to West Bromwich Albion on 3 April that was their first loss under Tuchel.

• Chelsea have kept 12 clean sheets in their last 16 games, and 17 in their last 23, including four in the last five, the exception the draw at Real Madrid. The West Brom defeat ended a run of seven straight clean sheets that equalled the club record set in 1905/06 and matched in 2003/04 and 2005/06 (twice).

• Tuchel's record since succeeding Frank Lampard as head coach on 26 January is now W15 D6 L2. His 14-match unbeaten start surpassed Luiz Felipe Scolari's previous club best of 12.

• Jorginho's penalty in a 2-0 home win against Everton on 8 March was his sixth goal in this season's Premier League, all from the spot; only Liverpool's James Milner, with seven in 2016/17, has scored more goals exclusively from penalties in a Premier League campaign.

• Edouard Mendy has kept 24 clean sheets in his 39 Chelsea appearances in all competitions including 14 in his last 20.

• Chelsea were 1-0 winners against Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals on 17 April thanks to Hakim Ziyech's goal; they will play Leicester City in the final on 15 May. It is their fourth FA Cup final appearance in five years and 15th in total.

• Mateo Kovačić has not played since 10 April due to a thigh injury.

• Antonio Rüdiger sat out the weekend win due to a knock picked up in Madrid.

Real Madrid
• Marcelo's next appearance in the UEFA Champions League, group stage to final, will be his 100th. He would be the 41st player to reach that mark and the third from Brazil, following fellow full-backs Roberto Carlos and Dani Alves.

• Madrid are unbeaten in 19 matches in all competitions (W13 D6) and have kept five clean sheets in their last six games, the exception the draw with Chelsea. They were 2-0 winners at home to Osasuna on Saturday.

• Éder Militão opened the scoring against Osasuna, his first Liga goal for the club on his 25th appearance.

• Casemiro was also on target at the weekend, making it six league goals this season – his most prolific for the club.

• Zinédine Zidane's side have conceded only nine goals in that 19-match unbeaten run, and never more than once in a game.

• Madrid have drawn 0-0 in three of their last six games in all competitions (W2 D4), as many as they had in their previous 68 matches (W45 D10 L13).

• Saturday was only Madrid's second victory in their last six games in all competitions (D4), the other a 3-0 win at Cádiz on 21 April.

• A 2-1 loss at home to Levante on 30 January is Madrid's only defeat in their last 24 Liga matches (W17 D6).

• Karim Benzema, who scored twice at Cádiz, has 13 goals in his last 14 Liga appearances and 11 in his last 11. He has 13 in his last 15 games in all competitions.

• Benzema's goals against Cádiz mean he has now scored against 35 different Liga sides, equalling Raúl González's club record.

• Raphaël Varane was replaced at half-time against Osasuna on Saturday due to discomfort in his right leg.

• Dani Carvajal made his first appearance since 2 January in a 2-0 home win against Valencia on 14 February after recovering from a hamstring injury, but suffered a recurrence of the problem and was replaced after 28 minutes. He returned as a substitute against Cádiz and started against Chelsea but had to be replaced after suffering a muscle injury and was absent against Osasuna.

• Sergio Ramos returned from knee surgery that had kept him out since 14 January in the 2-1 home victory against Elche on 13 March. However, a calf muscle injury sustained on international duty with Spain has kept him out since 31 March.

• Having been sidelined between 28 November and 30 December with a muscle injury, Eden Hazard picked up a thigh injury in training and had not played since that loss to Levante in January before coming on as a substitute against Elche. However, he was then sidelined by another muscle problem, returning as a late substitute in a 0-0 draw at Real Betis on 24 April.

• Lucas Vázquez injured his knee in the 2-1 victory against Barcelona on 11 April and has not played since.

• Ferland Mendy (calf) and Federico Valverde (illness) have not played since the quarter-final second leg at Liverpool.