London (EFE) that returned to give off a terrifying absence of goal.
The ‘Blues’ were not inferior, but their inefficiency in front of goal, together with a splendid Thibaut Courtois and a stellar Rodrygo, ended up curtailing their few options against a Real Madrid far from the brilliance of the comebacks to which they have become accustomed in European tours.
This time it was not an exhibition or a walk. It was proof that Real Madrid sometimes knows how to play with the result and defend itself. Be content with the score until the opportunity arises. Until the ball reaches Rodrygo’s boots with half an hour to go and he executes Chelsea with a Cristiano-style celebration included.
And a little more. Decaffeinated, given the history of whites in Europe, but effective. Because the story could have been different if Chelsea’s viewer, the one that has been damaged throughout the campaign, for once had pointed to the networks.
N’Golo Kanté, as the banner of a tremendously defensive line-up by Frank Lampard, who tried to come back from 2-0 with five defenses, sent to limbo the occasion that could have changed the course of everything. The ball fell dead on the penalty spot and he shot it with his left foot -his less good leg- it went far from Courtois’s goal. Bad luck, because the right ball fell to the player with the least goal.
History that was repeated in the twilight of the first half. A play by Reece James, exhausted throughout the game, ended with a pass to the far post that Cucurella, afraid of hitting him first, controlled. The Spaniard made a mistake, giving Courtois time to react and he took the shot from point-blank range. Cucurella made a mistake in the first leg, causing the expulsion of Chilwell, and failed again in the return.
0-0 draw at halftime
The ruling allowed Real Madrid to reach the break with 0-0 and take a breather. Chelsea accepted the challenge and could only go up, opening up the spaces, which the ‘Blues’ feared the most. As soon as Rodrygo caught a ball with a field ahead, the game was over.
The Brazilian destroyed Chalobah in speed and, although his cross did not find Benzema, it did find Vinícius at the far post. He did not rush and saw the arrival of Rodrygo, who pushed into the net to make it 0-1 and went to the north corner of Stamford Bridge to do Cristiano’s famous ‘siuuu’.
Elimination finished and time for Real Madrid and Chelsea to slow down. Not so Vinícius, who won the band and put a low cross that Valverde, with a magnet, took in the race to serve Rodrygo 0-2.
With Rodrygo’s double, which sharpens his idyll with Europe, Real Madrid flies to its third consecutive semifinals, eleven in thirteen years. Wait for Bayern Munich or Manchester City and take another step towards their fifteenth European Cup. Still far away, yes, but as in recent years, always possible.
- Datasheet:
0 – Chelsea: Cape Town; James, Chalobah, Flying, Silva, Cucurella (Mudryk, m.67); Enzo (Sterling, m.67), Kovacic, Kante; Gallagher (John, m.67) and Havertz (Mount, m.77).
2 – Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal (Nacho, m.82), Militao, Alabama (Rudiger, m.46), Camavinga; Kroos (Birches, m.76), Modric, Fede Valverde; Rodrigo (Asensio, m.82), Vinicius and Benzema (Tchouameni, m.71).
Goals: 0-1, m.58: Rodrygo. 0-2, m.80: Rodrygo.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (ITA). He admonished Militao (m.71) for Real Madrid and Cucurella (m.34), James (m.50) and Mudryk (m.90) for Chelsea.
Incidents: Second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals played at the Stamford Bridge stadium (London) in front of 39,453 spectators.
King Emeritus Juan Carlos I arrived this Tuesday, shortly after 6:30 p.m. local time (5:30 p.m. GMT), at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s stadium, in west London, to witness the English club’s match against Real Madrid in the League of Champions.
The emeritus, whose private visit to London has aroused great media attention, arrived in the vicinity of the stadium in a black all-terrain vehicle after the Real Madrid bus and at the same time as the president of the Madrid club, Florentino Pérez, with whom he was not saw greet each other
Dressed in a dark suit and helped by his bodyguards, Don Juan Carlos entered the VIP room of the Chelsea field, where he will attend the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
By Manuel Sanchez Gomez