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."

Chelsea v Real Madrid player ratings

CHELSEA RATINGS: Edouard Mendy - 4: Helpless in first half as Vinicius Junior hit bar and Benzema sent two perfect headers into the net. Catastrophic pass to Rudiger gifted Benzema his hat-trick for Real's crucial third and looked shaky for rest of game. AFP

Andreas Christensen - 4: In right place to clear after Mendy saved from Valverde as Real threatened to make it 3-0 but generally given torrid time by Vinicius Junior. Hooked at break. EPA

Thiago Silva - 6: Textbook defending from veteran Brazilian defender with well-timed block on compatriot Vinicius Junior. Couldn’t handle Benzema’s movement ahead of second goal. Headed chance over himself in 39th minute. EPA

Antonio Rudiger - 5: German was booked in opening 20 minutes for cynical trip on Valverde which might explain his weak challenge on Benzema before Frenchman scored his third following dire Mendy pass. AP

Jorginho - 6: Seemed helpless as Real ran riot in first half until producing pinpoint ball to pick on Havertz for German to head home and make it 2-1. Getty

N’Golo Kante - 6: Trademark tackle and fine ball forward set up early chance for Havertz. Fired shot from distance well over. Also hooked at half-time, assuming due to injury as there was more obvious choices. AFP

Reece James - 7: Lovely turn in first half to bamboozle Casemiro and saw curling free-kick saved by Courtois. Conceded needless corner that Militao headed straight at keeper. Had low shot saved by keeper late on. AFP

Cesar Azpilicueta - 5: Captain found Valverde a handful down his left flank. Powerful strike was heading for top corner until Courtois produced fine save just after half-time. EPA

Mason Mount 6: Urged forward at start by Tuchel and flashed dangerous early ball across box and looked like it was going to his night. But didn’t really make another big impact on game until curling finish on to roof of net with 20 minutes to go. AP

Christian Pulisic - 4: American attacker kept very quiet by Real defence and offered little threat. The fact he started ahead of Lukaku shows how far the Belgian has fallen down the pecking order. AP

Kai Havertz - 7: Fired shot over bar in fifth minute. Headed Chelsea back into game five minutes before break and comfortably their biggest attacking threat. Reuters

SUBS: Hakim Ziyech – (On for Kante 46’) 5: Moroccan didn’t really give Chelsea the extra attacking impetus they were after and drilled a left-footed shot over bar in injury time when well placed. PA

Mateo Kovacic – (On for Christensen 46’) 6: Brought on to give Chelsea a midfield boost but could only look on in horror as Mendy and Rudiger contrived to gift Real a third right after half-time. AP

Romelu Lukaku – (Pulisic 64’) 4: Belgian striker missed two headed chances soon after coming on, the second of which he should have finished. Badly short of confidence for his club and doesn't look like he wants to be there. PA

Ruben Loftus-Cheek – (Jorginho 64’) 5: The midfield battle was already being lost but Loftus-Cheek did nothing to change that after coming on. Getty

REAL MADRID RATINGS: Thibaut Courtois - 7: Former Chelsea keeper, booed by home fans from off, made solid save from James free-kick and got hand on but couldn’t keep out Havertz’ header in first half. Great one-handed stop from Azpilicueta shot. PA

Dani Carvajal - 8: On his toes in opening minute to clear dangerous Mount cross and impressive performance throughout from experienced full-back. Getty

Eder Militao - 7: Speculative long-range shot in fourth minute saved down low by Mendy. Booked in first 20 minutes for hauling down on Havertz. Barely gave Pulisic a kick but limped off injured in second half. AFP

David Alaba - 8: Important challenge to prevent Havertz getting free shot in goal early on in what was Austrian's 100th Champions League game. Immense at the back. Getty

Ferland Mendy - 7: Under early pressure from James and Mount but French left-back regained his composure and was solid throughout. AFP

Luka Modric - 8: What a ball from Croatian to pick out Benzema in the box for striker’s second. The veteran midfielder continues to have a major influence on big games. AFP

Casemiro - 8: Had home fans demanding penalty after challenge on Havertz but was waved away from referee. Some crunching tackles and helped Real win midfield battle. AFP

Toni Kroos - 7: Passing masterclass in midfield with Modric for an hour but was starting to look tired before being taken off with 16 minutes left. AFP

Federico Valverde - 8: Played down the right and caused Chelsea plenty of problems, particularly in opening 45 minutes. AP

Karim Benzema – 9.5: Two brilliant headers put Real in charge of quarter-final – one powered, one placed. Then put easy shot wide to miss out on first-half treble but his third did come just after break thanks to Chelsea’s disastrous defending. Reuters

Vinicius Junior - 9: Rattled crossbar with 10th-minute strike when he should have scored. Perfect cross to pick out Benzema for Frenchman’s opener and was sensational out wide in the first 45 minutes when he made Christensen’s life a misery. AFP

SUBS: Nacho – (On for Militao 65’) 7: Good block on Mount shot with 10 minutes to go. EPA

Eduardo Camavinga – (On for Kroos 74’) 6: Came on for a shattered Kroos and helped Real see out the match with a 3-1 advantage. Getty

Gareth Bale – (On for Benzema 86’) N/A. AFP

Dani Ceballos – (Valverdy 86’) N/A. Reuters

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".