Real Madrid trained on the Stamford Bridge pitch in what was their final training session prior to the Champions League quarter-final second-leg clash with Chelsea.

The session got underway with Ancelotti’s players split into rondos, before they moved on to other possession drills. They then completed passing and finishing drills and played a game on a reduced-size pitch, while the session was rounded off with shots on goal.

Speaking in the Stamford Bridge press room ahead of Tuesday encounter, Carlo Ancelotti previewed the second leg by stating: “We feel good and we’re motivated, as we always are for matches in this competition. We’ll need a complete performance because we all know that anything can happen in this competition.

“We have to go step by step and we want to be in the semi-finals. If we do that, we’ll have done well as reaching consecutive semi-finals is impressive. This club is the king of this competition.”

The coach was asked if he now has a fixed starting line-up, after repeating the Clásico second leg starting XI in the Chelsea first leg. To that, the Italian said: “One day you think you have a set starting line-up, but then the others might play one day and make you change your mind. This is a squad with depth, so to think of just 11 would be disrespectful to the others. There are more than 11 players who deserve to play right now.”

With the change in the line-up, Kroos has moved into the centre of midfield, a position he has previously stated he doesn’t like as much. Asked about this, the coach pointed out: “I don’t think it changes too much for him because he plays the same way on the ball and plays a similar way defensively. You have to defend with 11 players in modern football, so he has to defend whether he plays as a holding midfielder or elsewhere in midfield.”

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