Graham Potter will face his biggest challenge as Chelsea manager yet when they face Real Madrid across two legs in the 2022/23 Champions League quarter finals.
The Blues have struggled for consistency since Thomas Tuchel’s departure but more regular victories have been picked up in recent weeks and progression into the last eight of the UCL was confirmed at the expense of Borussia Dortmund.
It’s Potter’s first foray into the Champions League and he’ll have to balance a late push for European spots in the Premier League with keeping his side competitive against Los Blancos.
Here’s how the ties fit into Chelsea’s fixture list for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign.
With the Carabao Cup long since completed and having been eliminated from the FA Cup, the Champions League is Chelsea’s last remaining hope of silverware this season.
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They’ve been handed perhaps the toughest draw possible in the form of Real Madrid, the defending champions who beat the Blues in the quarter finals last season.
On paper, Chelsea have a good run of fixtures until they face Real at the Bernabeu in their first leg. Their final match before the international break is a home clash with Everton and they resume in April with two more matches at Stamford Bridge against Aston Villa and Liverpool.
A trip to Wolves comes just before Chelsea jet off to Spain for that first leg. They’ll return to England to face Brighton, Potter’s former side who sit above them in the Premier League, before hosting Real Madrid in the second game of the tie.
Chelsea fixture list with Real Madrid UCL quarter finals
The good news for Chelsea is they have a strong record against Real Madrid. They have only lost to Real Madrid once in competitive action, that being the 3-1 defeat at Stamford Bridge last season.