Chelsea midfielder Mateo Kovacic has paid tribute to Luka Modric ahead of their clash with Real Madrid.

Chelsea go to Madrid needing to overturn a 3-1 deficit to reach the Champions League semifinals.

Kovacic said of former Real teammate Modric: "It is difficult to stop him because he is an amazing player. I admired him because when I was a child he played for my favourite club Dinamo Zagreb.

"Now we are friends, I admire him even more.

"He was always as good as he is now. As far as I know in the last five or six years he is always on the same level. Why is he so good? He loves football and is a professional every day."