New on Sports Illustrated: LIVE: Real Madrid, Chelsea Meet in Champions League Semifinal First Leg

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Real Madrid is seeking a fifth Champions League title in eight seasons, while Chelsea is looking to return to the final for the first time since winning it all in 2012.

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original article to see embedded media.

In a clash between two giants dealing with Super League fallout, Real Madrid will host Chelsea at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano in the first leg of the UEFA Champions semifinals.

Six months ago it might have seemed unrealistic to see either side in Europe's final four, but Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and Real legend Zinedine Zidane have led stunning turnarounds at their respective clubs in the new year. 

Despite missing a chance to top the La Liga table this weekend in a scoreless draw with Real Betis, Real Madrid sits in second place just two points behind cross-city rival Atlético. In a rematch of the 2018 Champions League final, Los Blancos dispatched Liverpool on a 3-1 aggregate in the quarterfinals despite missing starting defenders Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane.

Chelsea kicked off the Tuchel era at Stamford Bridge with a 15-match unbeaten run and recently ended Manchester City's hopes at an unprecedented quadruple with a 1-0 win in the FA Cup semifinals. The Blues edged past Portuguese champions Porto in the quarterfinals on a 2-1 aggregate and enter the semis having recorded 16 clean sheets in its last 21 matches in all competitions.  

Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic becomes only the third American player to feature in the Champions League semifinals after Tyler Adams and Damarcus Beasley. 

Stay tuned here for live updates and highlights of goals and key plays from throughout the match (refresh for most recent updates).

Here are the lineups for both clubs:

The winner of this semifinal tie will play either PSG or Manchester City for the 2021 Champions League title. The final is set for May 29 in Istanbul.

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