Real Madrid survive Chelsea scare

Real Madrid rise to the occasion and advance to Champions League semifinals

It has become quite the cliché to say Real Madrid simply know how to play in the Champions League.

But how else can one explain not only the comeback against PSG but the comeback against Chelsea?

The Premier League side came in to the Santiago Bernabeu down 3-1 from the first leg. Thomas Tuchel’s side gave everything they could as goals by Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner put Chelsea ahead 4-3 on aggregate. With10 minutes left in regulation, Chelsea were through to the next round.

Like he’s done so often this season, Luka Modric delivered a wonderful, lobbed cross to Rodrygo who volleyed it one-time past Edouard Mendy.

The momentum was clearly on Real Madrid’s side and it wouldn’t take the 13-time European champions long to take advantage.

Karim Benzema once again showcased why he is arguably the best striker in the world as he gave Madrid the lead, on aggregate, six minutes into extra time.

Eduardo Camavinga recovered a poor pass from Chelsea and laid it off to Vinicius Jr. The Brazilian carried the ball into the box who crossed to Benzema who was helped by Rudiger who fell over as the Frenchman made the visitors pay.

Despite there still being plenty of time after Benzema’s goal, Chelsea looked deflated and seemed to accept their fate. And so it came to pass as the Santiago Bernabeu witnessed another magical Champions League night.

"“Another incredible night at the Bernabeu. The tie got very difficult, and another spectacular reaction from the team puts us in the semifinals,” Nacho told Movistar after the match. “The important thing is we’re in the next round.“We have a lot of things to improve, especially at the start of the game, but this is Real Madrid, we’re taught here to never give up. The DNA of this club is to fight until the end. Mission accomplished.“We’re prepared to fight for everything, in the good and the bad moments, even if we hadn’t gone through we fought until the end.”Source: ESPN"

Chelsea did all they could but in the end it wasn’t enough. They could feel hard done by seeing as the first goal was a result of losing the ball and failing to properly track Modric. The second one came off a poor pass and somehow still not being able to cover Benzema who had a hat trick in the first leg.

Tuchel had nothing but praise for his players after the defeat.

"“These are the kind of defeats we can digest and swallow, because we left nothing to regret out there,” Tuchel said. “We played what we wanted to play and showed the quality and character the team has. We deserved to go through, but it was not meant to be, we were simply unlucky.  The full credit is for the players.Source: The Guardian"

At the same time, however, he did throw a dig at the referee and referenced the disallowed Marcos Alonso goal. VAR reversed the decision and deemed a handball on the Spanish left-back.

Alonso’s goal would have made it 3-0 but Chelsea ended up getting a third regardless.

As opposed to the tie against PSG, Real Madrid were the better team in the first leg and down 3-0, they didn’t panic and their veterans stepped up when the team needed them the most.

Against all odds, Madrid now find themselves in the semifinals of the Champions League. With LaLiga all but won, they have an opportunity at winning a double. After all, given their displays in the knockout rounds, it would be foolish to bet against them. They simply find ways to win.