Thomas Tuchel’s side made a fairy-tale comeback in the second leg of the UCL quarter-finals against Real Madrid, Tuesday, in a game they were long written off before the blast of the whistle, albeit it was not enough to send the reigning Champions to the Semifinal of the Europe’s elite competition.
The Blues played with an effort and energy uncommon for visitors who were 3-1 down at the end of the first leg at Stamford Bridge in London, however, they were suddenly up 3-4 in 77th minute of play at the Bernabue.
A huge character made Chelsea bully Real Madrid in their backyard. Mount started the pressure on 15th minute, Rudiger joined and Werner seems to have sealed it after Alonso’s goal was disqualified.
Real Madrid was made to feel like visitors in their home, searching everywhere to find the back of the net.
The search started on the 80th minute when Modric set up Rodrygo for a beautiful goal.
Another goal came in when Chelsea’s defence was relaxed and Benzema patiently headed a winner past Mendy on the 96th minute. The UCL defending champions tried in vain to recapture their sweet victory but they lost on a dramatic night of European football.
“We left nothing to regret. We deserve to go through but we were unlucky. Full credits to the players.” Chelsea’s tactician, Tuchel said.
Thomas Tuchel was however disappointed by the referee’s decision to disallow Alonso’s goal. He held his shoulder high because they did not give up the trophy without a good fight.
Chelsea won the match but Real Madrid went through to the next stage of the Champions League on 5-4 aggregate, thanks to their 3-1 victory over the Blues a week ago.
