Chedjou not afraid of Real and Bale challenge

The Turkish champions face the nine-time European Cup winners in their Group B clash in Istanbul on Tuesday.

Bale - who joined Real Madrid from Tottenham Hotspur in a world record transfer fee of £85 million on September 1 - scored a debut goal in the club's 2-2 draw away to Villarreal on Saturday.

Chedjou believes while Bale will be a threat for Carlo Ancelotti's side at the Türk Telekom Arena, Galatasaray must be wary of the danger posed by the whole team.

Speaking exclusively to FourFourTwo, the central defender said: “The team has been preparing as usual except that we know it is an extremely important game. It is the first group game and we know that if we want to get out of Group B, we need to get as many points as possible at home.

“Real Madrid are one of the biggest teams in the world, and danger can come from everywhere. That is why we respect them – but we don't fear them.

“Gareth Bale is a great player with amazing speed. He will be very important for Real Madrid but, like I said previously, threat can come from everywhere.”

Galatasaray recorded a 3-2 home victory against Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals last season but were still knocked out 5-3 on aggregate.

But Chedjou claims the clash between the two sides on Tuesday will not be as high scoring as the victory in Istanbul last term.

The 27-year-old said: “I don't think the two games are similar because last year the match was more open.

“This time it's the first game, even if we need a good start, we can't leave space for Madrid's attacks. We hope we will get a good result [against Madrid]. If it doesn't work out this time we still have more games after.

“We will play our best – like last season. It is true that these are two very strong teams in the group but in the end the games are played on the pitch.”

Translation: Caroline Ienné