We're no Madrid, admits Makelele

Chelsea midfielder Claude Makelele thinks his new club are not yet in the same league as Real Madrid - the side he left to join the Stamford Bridge revolution.

Frenchman Makelele, 30, has helped Claudio Ranieri's side into third place in the Premiership, the last 16 of the Champions League and a Carling Cup quarter-final against Aston Villa tonight.

But for all Chelsea's success, he maintains they have a long way to go to match Real.

'There's no comparison,' he said. 'At the end of the day, Real Madrid are Real Madrid - you must not forget that.

'Here, I'm surrounded by some pretty good players, but the level is very different to that at Real. After all, Real have some Golden Boot winners - very talented players.

' Here, there are some extremely good players who will go on to become big names on the world stage. But you can't really compare the two, they're quite different.'

Makelele, who arrived at Chelsea in the summer for £16.6million, added in a BBC World Service interview to be broadcast on Saturday: ' The Premiership is one of the three best leagues in the world, along with Spain and Italy.

'I've been surprised by the commitment of the players and the high tempo of the game for 85 of the 90 minutes. In terms of commitment and aggression, the Premiership is very strong.

'There are certain tackles that in other leagues the referee would blow for, but here they let play go on. That's one of the things that has surprised me. But overall, I think I've got used to the Premiership pretty quickly.'

Although the Carling Cup may be low on Chelsea's priorities, Aston Villa manager David O'Leary is expecting a real battle at Villa Park.

O'Leary said: 'I don't for one minute believe that it's merely a case of Chelsea turning up at our place for a cup quarterfinal and not being particularly bothered about the result.

'Mr Abramovich will want to see some silverware for his money and I truly believe they want to win this competition as much as anyone.'