Chelsea headed into this week’s matchup at the Bernabeu looking to overturn a 3-1 deficit from the previous leg.
An uphill task to say the least, but on that Chelsea actually managed. Thomas Tuchel’s tactical tinkering worked wonders on the night and it was Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who Tuchel had instructed to drift into the centre of the pitch when Chelsea were in possession, that was crucial to the first goal – providing the pre-assist and dragging David Alaba out of position to allow Mason Mount a clear run at goal:
That’s the perfect start for Chelsea! ?
A fortunate way through for Mason Mount, but there was nothing fortunate about the finish… ?
We’re down to a one-goal deficit! #UCL pic.twitter.com/O5uMYZlGTE
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 12, 2022
Chelsea then went on to add another two goals from Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner.
However, in the end, despite being the worse team on the day, Madrid’s quality shone through and their world-class stars stepped up.
Firstly, Luka Modric played a simply sensational ball to substitute Rodrygo to bring the tie back on level terms. Then, in extra time, the in-form Karim Benzema got on the end of a Vinicius Junior cross to head home the winner.
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What Benzema wanted from Reece James
The man who should have been marking Vinicius tighter when he assisted Benzema was Reece James.
However, to James’ credit, that was his only laps of judgment on an otherwise great night for the Englishman.
So good was his display that James was even asked for his shirt by arguably the best player in the world right now, Karim Benzema.
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