How Antonio Rudiger Reacted After Real Madrid Draw Chelsea in the Champions League

• Antonio Rudiger is relishing the prospect of facing his former club Chelsea
• Real Madrid have been drawn with Chelsea in the Champions League for the third straight year
• Rudiger has played in all four previous games with the Blues, scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu last season

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger is chomping at the bit following his side's draw in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals.

Rudiger's Madrid will face Chelsea for the third consecutive season in Europe's premier club competition.

The hard-tackling centre-half made 203 appearances in five seasons during his stint with Chelsea before swapping London for Madrid last summer, per Transfermarkt.

Ahead of his side's clash with his former employers, the 30-year-old wrote, as quoted by Sportskeeda:

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"This will be very special – Can’t wait to see so many friends again."

Rudiger will not be the only current Madrid star playing against his former club in the fixture, with Eden Hazard and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the same bracket.

Madrid's recent clash with Chelsea

The two European heavyweights met for the first time in the semi-finals of the 2020-21 season, where Chelsea prevailed 3-1 on aggregate en route to winning the Champions League.

Real Madrid exacted revenge the following year by knocking out the Premier League side in the quarterfinals, winning 5-4 on aggregate.

Champions League draw in full

Meanwhile, Manchester City will face Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in what is set to be the standout fixture of this stage.

The draw was conducted in Nyon, Switzerland, on March 17 as the road to the Istanbul final on June 10 became clearer.

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In the semi-final draw, the winner of the Man City vs Bayern tie will play the winner of the Chelsea vs Real Madrid match.

Why Napoli could dethrone Madrid?

Sports Brief also reported on Napoli having an unbelievable 2022/23 campaign.

The Italian side only recently qualified for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the first time in their history after defeating Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 over two legs in the round of 16.

Napoli has been drawn to face fellow Italian side AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals after the draws were conducted on Friday, March 17.