Chelsea take on Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tonight.
The stadium is among the largest in Europe, with a capacity of over 81,000. However, Chelsea have been allocated just 1,800 tickets for their fans.
Those who tune in to watch on television may notice why, as large sections of the stadium are currently out of action, covered by an enormous tarpaulin.
This was also the case when Liverpool were granted the same allocation for their round-of-16 trip to the Bernabeu, and indeed when Chelsea visited the ground last season. In fact, the blue covers have been present for well over a year.
Why are seats covered at the Bernabeu?
Large sections of the lower tier have been out of use since 2021 as the stadium is undergoing renovations.
The project will see the capacity increased to 85,000 and add both a retractable roof and retractable playing surface.
It is the construction of this playing surface that has forced the closure of the stands, as it is being housed under them.
Lighting and irrigation systems are being installed in the lower section of the stadium to keep the pitch in good condition.
The retractable pitch will allow Real Madrid to use the stadium floor for other purposes, such as concerts, as is the case at Tottenham’s stadium, which also has a retractable playing surface.
The work was supposed to begin in 2017 but was delayed until 2019. It was set to finish last year but the timeline has been pushed back by the Covid-19 pandemic and supply issues caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, so work is now due to be completed later this year.
How can I watch Real Madrid vs Chelsea?
Real Madrid vs Chelsea kicks off at 8pm BST. The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1, with coverage beginning at 7pm. Subscribers can also watch live online via the BT Sport app and website.
The Champions League will offer Frank Lampard’s Chelsea a chance to escape from “a place we don’t want to be”, he said ahead of the game.
Chelsea’s interim coach was referring to the team’s position in the bottom half of the Premier League table after they failed to score in any of their last three league outings, with the Champions League presenting their only hope of salvaging a wretched season.
In the past, Europe has offered respite during difficult domestic seasons, as happened in 2012 when the Blues – managed by interim boss Roberto Di Matteo – were crowned Champions League winners at the same time as finishing sixth in the league.
Di Matteo, who spent five seasons as a player at Chelsea, took over from Andre Villas-Boas when the Portuguese coach was sacked in February, and led the team to a stunning win against Barcelona in the semi-final before beating Bayern Munich in the final.
Lampard was asked about the similarities between the club’s current situation and that season, when a former Stamford Bridge favourite took the manager’s job whilst the team floundered and pulled off an unlikely European success.
He warned against allowing history to prevent his side from taking seriously the threat posed by the reigning European champions.
“I think there are parallels in a simple sense,” said Lampard. “We are ex-players. The year Robbie was here he was an assistant, he had a big awareness of the squad. He got the job earlier in the year than I did.
“He did an amazing job. I think my situation is different in practice. I do have an awareness of the squad, but not close-hand to all of them.
“I have to be careful making that parallel, because obviously we have very tough games in front of us. There’s a lot of work to be done, but we’re very committed to trying to, if we can, make our own little bit of history.”
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