Courtois Savours Chelsea Reunion After Real Madrid Reach UCL Semis

Real Madrid held Liverpool to a goalless draw at Anfield on Wednesday to confirm their participation in the semi-finals of Europe’s premier club competition for the 30^th time in their history after winning the first leg 3-1 in Spain last week.

Zinedine Zidane’s side’s reward for their progression will be a date with Chelsea, where Courtois spent four years as a first team regular following a three-year loan spell with Atletico Madrid.

Courtois won two Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League cup with the Blues before returning to the Spanish capital in 2018, and the Belgium international has described the reunion with his old employers as ‘special’.

"It's a special game against my former club. Since [Thomas] Tuchel came in, they've played 3-5-2, 3-4-3 and they're doing well, not conceding many goals," Courtois said.

"It's going to be a tough match but I hope we can come through it.

"We're hungry to win another Champions League and we have to try and go into it on a high. We might get some of our injured players back but everyone who played today showed we're a fantastic team."

"We came into today off the back of two really difficult games and maybe we just lacked the legs in attack but defensively we ran as if we had twelve men on the pitch," Courtois added.

"It was unbelievable. Everyone has to put that effort in when we're taken to the limit.

"We had to dig in and give it our all and that's what we did. That's crucial for the team's desire and in order to show we're a unit."

Another former Chelsea player who could be returning to Stamford Bridge is Eden Hazard, if he manages to stay fit for Real Madrid.