Champions League: Chelsea dream of unlikely comeback against Real Madrid

The second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie between Chelsea FC and Real Madrid CF is set to take place on Tuesday evening. The defending champions are travelling to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with a number of disadvantages. They have a 3-1 deficit to overcome from the first leg defeat, and they will also be feeling the absence of prolific striker Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian striker didn't score in the first leg in Stamford Bridge last week, but he proved to be one of the few threats that challenged the Real Madrid defence. He has now been ruled out of the second leg through injury, after also missing out on Chelsea's 6-0 victory over Southampton in the Premier League over the weekend. He is reported to be experiencing pain in his Achilles area.

Apart from Lukaku, Callum Hudson-Odoi has also been ruled out, but the Blues will be relieved to have their captain, Cesar Azpilicueta back from a bout with Covid-19. The Spaniard tested positive last week, and has now rejoined the squad after returning a negative result.

Chelsea will be looking to launch a massive comeback on their opponent's home turf. In last year's semi-finals, they outplayed Los Blancos over the two legs, but that was an entirely different scenario. Last season, the match was played with a limited number of spectators at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano thanks to the renovations that were being done at the Spanish club's main stadium.

Hence, this is the first time ever for Chelsea to experience the pressure in front of the Santiago Bernabeu faithful. The 3-1 deficit does not make things any easier. However, manager Thomas Tuchel believes that all is not lost and they need to believe in their own abilities.

"What chance do we have? Not the biggest chance," Tuchel admitted during the pre-match press conference.

"But we never manage our effort and belief by the chances we have for a result. Trying means that we will play to the full limit. We will try to be in better shape and better condition than in the first match," he added.

Indeed, anything can still happen, as proven many times over the history of the UEFA Champions League. The 13-time European Champions are the favourites to advance, but Tuchel is aiming to write a fairy tale ending. "We need nothing else than a fantastic script if we want to be able to overcome this," he said.

"The challenge is incredibly high given the circumstances of the first leg and where we play and against whom we play," Tuchel said, before adding that he remains realistic and knows that they need to invest and work hard in order to turn things around.

"It's worth trying in sports. It's a beauty of the game that everything is possible always," he concluded.