Confirmed: Graham Potter & Chelsea learn ‘route of death’ to the Champions League final

Chelsea’s route to the 2023 Champions League final has been confirmed after the quarter-final and semi-final draw took place on Friday.

The two-time Champions League winners booked their spot in the last-eight after a 2-1 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund earlier this month.

Graham Potter and Chelsea learned their fate when the draw was made in Nyon, which saw the Blues be handed a quarter-final tie against Real Madrid, just like they were last season. Chelsea will be hoping for better fortune this time around.

Should they overcome Real Madrid, they will progress into the last-four and will face the winners of the other quarter-final tie between Manchester City and Bayern Munich.

Chelsea will head to the Bernabeu on Wednesday 12th April before returning to Stamford Bridge for the second leg less than a week later on Tuesday 18th April.

“The feeling is excitement but I’d rather speak about Everton right now as that’s the game tomorrow,” reacted Potter on the draw. “The other stuff is far away.”

On Thursday night, Potter’s used an expletive when asked about the draw, saying: “We’ll try and beat Everton, then we’ll take the draw, and then we’ll try and win the f*****g Champions League.”

When quizzed about it post-draw, he added: “I said we would try to win the Champions League! That’s the same for the other seven clubs. We’ll focus on Real Madrid when we get there.”

If Chelsea win both of their quarter-final and semi-final ties, they will head to Istanbul on Saturday 10th June. They will face one of AC Milan, Napoli, Benfica or Inter Milan.

Chelsea couldn’t have been handed a harder run in the draw. Now it’s all on the Blues to deliver against the biggest teams on the biggest stages if they want to win the Champions League for a third time.

Chelsea’s route to the Champions League final

Quarter-final: Real Madrid

Semi-final: Manchester City or Bayern Munich

Final: AC Milan, Napoli, Benfica or Inter Milan