Jose Mourinho is back in the news this time. Two of his former clubs are set to take on each other in the Champions League. After the draw on Friday Real Madrid were pitched against Chelsea. Los Blancos progressed after defeating Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate.
While Chelsea managed to overturn a 1-0 defeat against Borussia Dortmund. The Blues won the game 2-0 in a controversial fashion. Goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz were enough for the Blues to seal the victory. With the two teams now against each other, Mourinho has declared his preferred side.
Mourinho has two different spells with the Blues. One around 2004-2007 and the second one from 2013-2016. He achieved success in both seasons. But his move to Manchester United wasn’t appreciated by the Chelsea fans. He was also the manager of Real Madrid from 2010-2013, where he broke Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona’s dominance.
Thus the former Inter Milan manager was expected to be natural for the game. However, he has openly declared that he wants Real Madrid to win the Champions League this season.
Mourinho wants Real Madrid to win the Champions League
The Portuguese explained that the Spanish side are very close to his heart. Not only this he also wants them to win because Carlo Ancelotti is his friend. It has also been believed that Florentino Perez are Mourinho are also close to each other.
He said, “There is a club that is close to my heart and there is a manager who is my friend. Real Madrid are great and Carlo Ancelotti is great! Hopefully, they will go on in this way to win the final”. The AS Roma manager was speaking after his side qualified for the quarter-finals of the Europa League.
The Italian side defeated Real Sociedad 2-0 on aggregate. They will now take on Feyenoord in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. While Real Madrid will first welcome Chelsea at Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg on 13th April 2023. The second leg will be played at Stamford Bridge on 19th April 2023.
On the other hand, Mourinho must now be preparing for his side’s game against Lazio. It will be the Derby Della Capitale with Maurizio Sarri on the other side. Both teams are separated by just two points in the league table.
Real Madrid vs Chelsea in the Champions League
The recent comments by Jose Mourinho are likely to make Chelsea fans unhappy. However, their team has a mammoth task to beat Real Madrid. This season it looks unlikely that Los Blancos will win anything domestically. Thus they will be more determined to win the Champions League.
It is a competition in which they have thrived historically as well. Also, last season they managed to pull the victory out of the clutches of the Blues. They have experienced players in Luka Modric, Karim Benzema, and Toni Kroos who can deliver in important times.
Also on paper, Real Madrid are the favorites to win this one as well. However, they will be cautious that Chelsea cannot be underestimated. They have recruited heavily in the January transfer window.
Currently, Graham Potter’s side are unpredictable as well. Thus there are chances that the Blues can triumph over Real Madrid. Not only for Mourinho’s wish to come true Los Blancos if they defeat Chelsea, will have to beat the winner of Bayern Munich and Manchester City.
