Real Madrid vs Chelsea. UEFA Champions League Quarter Final.
Santiago BernabeuAttendance59,839.
5-4
Goals from Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner saw Chelsea go from 3-1 down on aggregate to 4-3 up; Rodrygo forced extra-time after finishing Luka Modric's delightful pass; Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema linked up once again in extra-time to break Blues hearts
Wednesday 13 April 2022 09:11, UK
Karim Benzema was Chelsea's tormentor once again as his extra-time header earned Real Madrid a spot in the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-4 aggregate victory.
A thrilling evening of football at the iconic Santiago Bernabeu saw the west Londoners overturn their 3-1 deficit to lead 4-3 on aggregate thanks to a stunning comeback, before Real levelled through Rodrygo's late goal to force extra-time.
Mason Mount swept Chelsea in front after 15 minutes to give the Blues a deserved half-time lead, before Antonio Rudiger and a brilliant Timo Werner solo goal gave Thomas Tuchel's brave side the advantage on aggregate.
Before Werner's strike to make it 3-0, Chelsea also had a Marcos Alonso goal ruled out by VAR due to a handball in the build-up, but the Blues were pegged back when a stunning Luka Modric pass was met by substitute Rodrygo, who fired in from close range to force extra-time.
It was Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema who linked up again in the additional period - just like they did with devastating effect in the London first leg - with the latter heading home his fourth goal of the tie to earn Carlo Ancelotti's side a spot in the last four.
Needing at least a two-goal win to stay alive in the Champions League, Tuchel continued with Ruben Loftus Cheek in the wider-than-midfield role he adopted in the 6-0 win at Southampton at the weekend - and it was the 26-year-old who played a key supporting role in Chelsea's first-half opener.
Loftus-Cheek was involved in a swift midfield move with Mateo Kovacic and Werner that saw the ball break to Mount on the edge of the penalty area, with the England international sweeping an effort past Thibaut Courtois to stun the Bernabeu.
Just before that goal, Benzema and Vinicius were threatening to show the link-up play that put them 3-1 ahead in the first leg, with the latter winning a free-kick on the edge of the area following a cheeky nutmeg on Reece James, though his strike partner spooned the set piece over.
Yet Chelsea continued to pepper the Real goal with Kovacic firing over from 25 yards out in what was the Blues' sixth shot on goal before the 30th minute. Rudiger followed up with a similar long-range effort that went wide, but had Courtois scrambling.
It was the Chelsea fans who could be heard above the nervous murmurs of the home crowd as Real went into the half-time break without a shot on target to their name - the first time the Spanish side have fired a blank of this sort in the Champions League since Opta first recorded stats.
Those away supporters' cheers raised to a new volume after the break - after more sustained pressure led to the scores being levelled.
James' shot from the edge of the box appeared to take a deflection off Modric for a corner - which the Blues used to good effect. Defender Rudiger met the set piece and headed it into the opposite corner to level the tie.
Real tried to respond shortly after the added setback as Benzema failed to connect for a shot on goal at Edouard Mendy, before Toni Kroos stung the Chelsea goalkeeper's palms with a fierce free-kick. The visitors, meanwhile, showed their counter-attacking qualities as Kai Havertz hit the side-netting on the break. That quick thinking on the break nearly led to Chelsea's third.
Mount and Havertz won the ball high up the pitch and released N'Golo Kante on the counter. He fed Marcos Alonso who lashed past Courtois - but the smallest of deflections off his arm in the build-up allowed VAR to rule it out.
After being denied a potential winner, Chelsea nearly found themselves behind as Benzema headed a cross from the left onto the bar. But then came Werner's moment of magic as some excellent feet from Kovacic allowed him to release the German, who evaded challenges from Casemiro and David Alaba to squirm the ball past Courtois and spark jubilant scenes.
It could have been four for Chelsea but Courtois kept out Havertz's bullet header from a corner. But soon the tie was levelled - this time by the hosts - as a stunning outside-of-the-boot pass from Modric found Rodrygo in the box and the Real substitute finished well from close-range.
Blues substitute Christian Pulisic had two golden chances in injury time to earn a Chelsea winner but he spooned two efforts over the bar after winning the ball from two free-kick knock downs - and the game went to extra-time.
Despite Chelsea starting brightly through James' fierce shot that went over, it was Real who took a first-half lead in extra-time when Vinicius burst down the left and crossed, with Benzema taking advantage of a slip from Rudiger in the box to head home past Mendy.
Chelsea did manage to muster many more chances in extra-time, with Hakim Ziyech stinging the palms of Courtois at his near post along with spurned chances from Havertz and Jorginho, but the tired Blues legs could not muster another goal to keep themselves at Europe's top table this season.
Sky Sports' Lewis Jones:
"We don't do managerial ratings here at Sky Sports - just ones for players - but if we did, Thomas Tuchel will have been close to a 10/10 for almost staging one of the greatest Champions League comebacks.
"Chelsea had Real Madrid on the ropes, outplaying them for large parts and outthinking them for almost the majority. In their own back yard. That stemmed from Tuchel's plan to play with bravery to hurt the La Liga leaders in the search for goals but to also keep Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema quiet at the other end after the pair had completely destroyed them at Stamford Bridge in the first half. It worked a charm.
"A great manager needs great players to carry out such instructions though.
"And, Tuchel has plenty of those at his disposal.
"His side played with amazing discipline but also mixed that in with a pulsating energy all across the pitch that didn't allow Real Madrid's key players time to lift their heads and work their magic. OK, maybe they allowed such occasions twice.
"It was just unfortunate that Luca Modric, Vinicius Jr and Benzema carry such quality that they are gifted enough to take those half chances. Modric's ball for Rodrygo's crucial goal to level the tie can takes you to football heaven every time you watch it.
"Reece James epitomised Chelsea's tactically astute performance in the way he coped with Vinicius Jr.
"There were other Chelsea heroes, too. Mason Mount ran until his legs couldn't run no more and scored a fantastic goal, Ruben Loftus-Cheek adapted his game very skilfully to play in a diamond midfield and supported James when he needed to whilst Marcus Alonso provided his usual quality but backed it up with an error-free performance.
"But it was James that stole the show.
"His defensive prowess to suffocate the Brazilian despite being booked after just 10 minutes was bordering on ridiculous at times. He made eight tackles on the night - no other Chelsea player made more than four. That showed just how much defending the academy graduate was asked to deal with. Even when Benzema ventured into James' area of the pitch, he was there to stop him, flicking the ball away from the striker with his toe to deny the Frenchman a clean strike at goal from eight yards out.
"After the game, Benzema asked for James' shirt, which said it all."
For Tuchel, the VAR decision not to award Alonso his goal was a particular frustration - but the German head coach had another bone to pick with referee Szymon Marciniak after the game.
The Chelsea boss saw the official laughing with Real manager Carlo Ancelotti after the game, with that moment providing Tuchel with plenty of anger in his post-match press conference.
"I was disappointed that the referee had a good time with Carlo," said Tuchel after the game. "When I wanted to go and say thank you, he was smiling and laughing with the opponent's coach.
"I think this is the very wrong time to do this after the final whistle, 126 minutes of a team giving their heart. When you go and see a referee smiling and laughing with the other coach, it's bad timing. I told him this.
"[It's] not only today. When you play against Real Madrid, maybe you don't expect everyone has the courage. I felt the little decisions in the first leg and today as well.
"I didn't see the goal but I am super disappointed he didn't come out and check it on it's own. You should stay the boss and not give the decisions to someone in a chair and who is isolated."
Tuchel, however, was full of praise for his Chelsea side after the match and admitted this defeat is easier to take given the performances put in by his players.
"These are the kind of defeats we can digest and swallow," he added. "We left nothing to regret out there. We played what we wanted to play, with the quality and the character this team has. We deserved to go through, we were simply unlucky and it wasn't to be.
"The most important thing is how we play and the input from the players. The full credit is for the players, you need to score and win and to do it over the 90 mins. We were unlucky not to go through."
Chelsea defender Rudiger joined Tuchel in praising the Blues' efforts on Tuesday night, but rued the mistakes made by his side in both legs of the Champions League quarter-final, including the 3-1 home loss last week.
"The positive is we didn't give up," said Rudiger after the second leg. "Not many teams can dominate as we did. But the big but is over the two legs, if you make these mistakes that we do, you get punished.
"The game plan was to find our no 10s with Ruben and Mason between Casemiro, we got the goal and we controlled it. We didn't panic and did it quite well. In the second half, we scored goals and we did everything we could.
"It was a do or die for us. I think before the game nobody thought we would have a 3-0 but the individual class comes to light with Modric and Benzema. Now we are here."
In the opposite camp, Real's Luka Modric admitted that he thought his side were "dead" at 3-0 down - but hailed the home support in the Santiago Bernabeu who drove their side to victory.
"It was unbelievable to describe this game. We were dead until the goal that we scored. I can't say we played a bad game, but they used their chances well and scored three goals.
"We kept believing and kept fighting and showed huge character. This stadium and the fans were very helpful with us. When we were losing 3-0, they were there supporting us. That have us more boost to keep believing we could turn this around.
"I think the mister [Ancelotti] did great changes and they did well. In this competition, experience certainly plays an important role and today it helped us a bit.
"We knew it would be tough, but at the end we showed great character, desire and togetherness. It's a defeat that is very sweet."
Chelsea head to Wembley on Sunday for their FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace; kick-off at 4.30pm. Thomas Tuchel's side then play host to Arsenal at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports Premier League from 7pm; kick-off at 7.45pm.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid head to third-placed Sevilla on Sunday - behind second-placed Barcelona only on goal difference - boasting a 12-point advantage at the top of the table, before a trip to mid-table Osasuna on Wednesday.
