18 March 2023 , 08:55
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Antonio Rudiger is excited to face his former club for the first time since his Chelsea departure after Real Madrid were drawn against the Blues in the Champions League quarter-finals.
The 30-year-old made the switch to the Santiago Bernabau in the summer after his contract expired at the Blues following a successful five-year spell in west London. Rudiger has been a mainstay in the Los Blancos side since his move, making 37 appearances in all competitions so far.
Although Rudiger's Real are nine points behind runaway leaders Barcelona in LaLiga, their form in the Champions League was exemplary despite losing once to RB Leizpig. They topped their group ahead of the German side, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic, picking up 13 points from a possible 18.
After comfortably beating Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the last-16, Real's reward is a quarter-final tie against Chelsea, which is set to take place next month. Carlo Ancelotti's side battered the Reds 5-2 in the first leg at Anfield, before easing to a 1-0 victory in Spain earlier this week.
Meanwhile, Graham Potter's Blues scraped past Borussia Dortmund 2-1 on aggregate thanks to goals from Raheem Sterling and Kai Havertz. After the draw was made, Rudiger reacted on social media and is relishing the chance to face his former employers for the first time.
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"This will be very special - Can't wait to see so many friends again," he posted on Twitter on Friday. Rudiger's post received plenty of love from the Chelsea supporters. However, there were some who reminded the defender they will be as keen as ever to beat his side in the last-eight.
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Antonio Rudiger in action for Real Madrid against Liverpool (Getty Images)Rudiger isn't the only ex-Chelsea player that now represents Real Madrid, with Thibaut Courtois and Eden Hazard the other two after they made the switch in 2018 and 2019 respectively. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic will come up against his former team once again, having faced Real in the previous two seasons.
Potter spoke about his side's draw during his pre-Everton press conference on Friday afternoon and he admitted he is looking forward to the two-legged tie against Los Blancos. "The feeling is excitement. I’ve said we will try to win the Champions League and that’s the same for the other seven clubs in the draw I’m sure," said Potter.
However, he revealed he wants to focus on Chelsea's Premier League campaign for now. Potter added: "We will focus on Real Madrid when we get there but at the moment our thoughts are on tomorrow and Everton. I’d rather focus on Everton because the other stuff is a long way away."
Before Chelsea make the trip to Madrid in the first-leg on 11 April, they have four crucial league fixtures in the form of Everton, Aston Villa, Liverpool and Wolves as they look to close the gap on the Champions League places. They currently sit 11 points behind fourth-place Tottenham in the table.