UCL: Gap between Chelsea, Real Madrid not as big as people think – Joe Cole

Former Chelsea forward Joe Cole has said that the gap between Chelsea and Real Madrid is rather exaggerated.

The former England forward stated this ahead of Real Madrid’s home game against Chelsea in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League knockout stage.

Chelsea defeated Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on aggregate to make it to the quarter-finals and are now in Spain for their quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.

However, the Premier League side is going into the game as underdogs in light of their domestic struggles this season.

The Blues, who recently sacked their manager and placed Frank Lampard as a caretaker boss, are currently in the 11th spot in the table with just 39 points from 30 matches – 17 points off the top four.

Real Madrid, on the other hand, beat Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the round of 16 to book a place in the quarter-final and are second in the La Liga standings with 59 points from 28 games.

Cole told BT Sport, “It’s a tall order for Chelsea, but I don’t think the gap is as big as people think.”

The former England winger was asked if Lampard can get more out of his players against Real Madrid, “He certainly can. Like Frank said in his interview, You have to put that into perspective with where the club has been for the last 20 years. We’ve had 30 new players, new managers, new owners, everything – it’s a big, big change,” he added.