Rudiger finds Chelsea strange after only a year

"The Chelsea team that I used to play with is very different from the team now," Rudiger said in an interview with Spanish newspaper Marca, two days before Real faced Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals.

Rudiger has just arrived at Real in the summer of 2022, after five seasons playing for Chelsea. He and the London team won many noble titles such as Champions League, Europa League, FA Cup and FIFA Club World Cup. The German defender announced his departure at the end of last season, when Chelsea was being sold by billionaire Roman Abramovich.

"Confronting Chelsea is always difficult because they have quality players," added Rudiger. Chelsea have just sacked manager Graham Potter just seven months after terminating the contract of Thomas Tuchel. They welcomed Frank Lampard back to temporarily take charge until the end of the season. In the Premier League, the owner of Stamford Bridge does not have many opportunities to squeeze into the group to attend the European Cup next season.

Real is having a hard time in the La Liga race with Barca. They were 12 points behind their opponents and played more than one match. But Real often plays well in cups, reaching the final of the King's Cup and the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

In an interview published on the front page of Marca on April 10, Rudiger likened Real to a "boggart" in the Champions League. He said: "When you play for Real, you see fear in the eyes of the opponent. Here, everyone knows how to play tough matches like this."

Rudiger last year scored against Real at the Bernabeu, helping Chelsea win the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final with a score of 3-2. But he could not prevent Karim Benzema from scoring a hat-trick in the second leg, thereby helping Real to win 3-1 and move on.

"I want to score for any team I play for," Rudiger replied when asked about the possibility of scoring against Chelsea next game. "But my main job is to defend. Score goals let Benzema, Vinicius and Rodrygo."

Real Madrid vs Chelsea will take place at 2:00 p.m. on April 13, at the Bernabeu. The two teams replayed at Stamford Bridge a week later.