Casemiro: Real Madrid refuse to be 'overly confident' against Chelsea despite advantage

Spanish giants in command after winning Champions League quarter-final first leg 3-1 at Stamford Bridge

Casemiro and Mason Mount challenge for the ball during Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Chelsea in the Uefa Champions League quarter-final first leg at Stamford Bridge on April 6, 2022. Getty

Casemiro has said Real Madrid refuse to be "overly confident" heading into their Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg against Chelsea on Tuesday having dominated the first match in London last week.

Madrid, 13-time European champions, took command of the tie by beating Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge last Wednesday, with Karim Benzema helping himself to a hat-trick.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was very critical of his team after last week's defeat and said it "would be impossible" to recover from the setback - words that did not go unnoticed in Real's dressing room.

"We won't fall for that," Casemiro said on Monday. "We played probably what was the best 90 minutes of our season in London last week and took a major step closer to qualifying for the semi-final but we can’t get overly confident.

"We all heard what Thomas Tuchel said. We don't buy it. We know that it will be a tough game. They are defending champions and we won’t take this game lightly, I can assure you of that."

Casemiro warned Real's supporters not to lose their focus and called on them to pack the Santiago Bernabeu stadium and help their team finish what they started in London.

"We’ll need our fans to be there and support us from the beginning," Casemiro said. "We can't get overconfident and need our fans to create a great atmosphere so we can advance to the semi-finals."

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Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti agreed with Casemiro, and the Spanish giants will be well aware of the threat Chelsea pose after their semi-final meeting last season, which the Blues comfortably won.

"Chelsea will come here to rescue the tie, I have no doubt about it," Ancelotti said. "He can say whatever he wants but I'm sure Chelsea will come here to win, that’s the spirit of football, the spirit of big clubs and great players, to never give up.

"I'm lucky to have a group of players that know these types of games really well, that anything can happen. They are in a good spirit and happy with the opportunity to reach a Champions League semi-final. But Chelsea are a very strong rival. We have to have a lot of respect and we're going to have it".