Wednesday night signed the end of the Champions League adventure for Zidane’s boys. Real Madrid faced a very strong and sold Chelsea that could not be broken but on the other hand built a game without any bright ideas and ended up risking to concede more goals. Thirteen-times European champions Real, who had come through each of their last three Champions League semi-final ties, had been second best for much last week's first leg which ended 1-1. Even with talisman Sergio Ramos back after missing the home leg they were outplayed by Thomas Tuchel's side again as the German coach continued his stunning impact in west London. Chelsea should have killed the game as they created, and wasted, a sackload of chances in a dazzling second-half display.
Zinedine Zidane modified a bit his 3-5-2 system from the first leg and tried something that maybe was close to the 4-3-3. Luka Modric roamed high, looking more like a No 10 at times and, as Eden Hazard drifted all over from the left, Ferland Mendy pushed up from left-back. Then it was Vinicius who looked more like a right wingback who had to play somewhat far from the opponents goal reaching often the Whites’ defense to communicate with the teammates. Yet there were very few points when Madrid managed to get in behind Chelsea’s last line.
Goals from Werner in the first half and Mount in the second booked a place in the final round for the Premier League side. The game was played at a frantic pace, as first an effort by Toni Kroos in the 11th minute and then Rudigier for the hosts, one minute later, set the tone for what was an action-packed first half.
The visitors almost opened the scoring on 26’ when a slick move ended with Karim Benzema collecting the ball on the edge of the box. The Frenchman turned and fired in a low effort which was brilliantly saved by Mendy. Two minutes later Chelsea burst forward on the break. Havertz was played through but his lobbed effort came back off the crossbar and the rebound was nodded in by Werner to break the deadlock.
The final chance ahead of the break fell to the madridistas when Luka Modrić’s left-footed ball was met by a fierce Benzema header, forcing Mendy into another superb stop. The second half began with Chelsea looking dangerous on the counter-attack and Havertz headed against the bar on 47’, before Mount and Havertz again were both second best in one-on-ones up against Thibaut Courtois. The first blasted over, while the second was brilliantly kept out by the Real Madrid goalkeeper.
Eden Hazard tried to deliver an immediate response and his cross-shot was turned behind by Mendy with 65 minutes on the clock. A minute later, though, it was the hosts causing problems again, only for Fede Valverde to get back with a courageous block after Kanté was sent through alone against Courtois. Real Madrid pushed up in search of the equaliser but could ultimately do nothing to breach the home side’s defensive cleverness. With 85 minutes gone, another swift counter ended with Mount converting a fine Pulisic assist to put the tie to bed.
On a night of high tension, even behind closed doors, Chelsea fully deserved a victory that sets up an all-English final against Pep Guardiola's Premier League leaders on 29 May.
Thibaut Courtois post-match words: "In the first half we had plenty of the ball but failed to create many chances. They went 1-0 up and it got difficult after that. They were very compact and on the break they hurt us. We have to keep going, sometimes you lose. We've got to look ahead to Sevilla on Sunday. Chelsea are very quick on the break, and they can do damage. It's not easy to get to the Champions League final every year. Today wasn't our day. I wish them all the best in the final."
Madrid midfielder Casemiro said his side's poor showing served to emphasize what an impressive achievement winning the tournament three seasons in a row is, as they achieved from 2016 to 2018. He said: "Today showed that what we did [by winning it before] was historic," he said. "It isn't easy to win the Champions League. Every game is difficult. Today showed once again that it isn't easy to win it."
Boss Zinedine Zidane to Movistar: "They deserved the win. We fought and tried but they deserved to win and go through. The players who have played were fit to play. I'm proud of my boys: we tried, we have got this far - just one game from the final. Chelsea played a great match and have gone through and we have to say well done to them. We needed to be better going forward. We didn't have any clear chances, they made a number of them and that's football. Now we rest and think of La Liga. Of course we're not happy. When you lose a semi-final you can't be happy and that's normal. It's tough to take, but tomorrow we'll be back out on the training pitch ready to go again."
Zidane, who was left defending his tactics after the match, also said: "I think the system was clear: We played with three at the back and two wing-backs. We've played a lot of games like that. It didn't turn out well -- we lost a lot of duels. We lacked something, yes, but we tried, and that's football. The players who played were OK to play. At the end of the game, we lacked some gas. Vinicius played two games there. I remember against Getafe -- he's a player who can do it."
Below are the ratings:
Thibaut Courtois: Hard to fault the Belgian, who was left exposed against his old side too often but anyhow saved the team from conceding more in several occasions. 7
Eder Militao: Naive positioning when Chelsea took the lead. He struggled when dealing with the opponent’s pace before being replaced by Valverde. 4
Sergio Ramos: The veteran defender was beaten too easily by Werner and performed really poorly. He also picked up a silly booking and kept making wrong and hurried interventions. 4
Nacho: He was most of the time out of position when Chelsea went ahead. He was often susceptible to pace and was at fault for Mount’s goal. 4
Ferland Mendy: The Frenchman was incapable of outwitting Azpilicueta on the left. Madrid needed more from him. 5
Luka Modric: The Croatian was ponderous in possession and struggled to handle Chelsea’s pace on the break. 5
Casemiro: Caught out by Kanté for Chelsea’s goal. The Brazilian knew that he had sold himself. 5
Toni Kroos: Neat and tidy but offered very little incision. Had an early shot easily saved by Mendy. He was also booked which is something not very usual but shows he has struggled in keeping the pace. 5
Vinícius Júnior: Struggled to track Chilwell’s runs down the left flank and had little impact in attack. 4
Karim Benzema: He was Madrid’s biggest threat and needed more support from the team but however he tested Mendy twice in the first half and tried to make some useful movements throughout the game. 6
Eden Hazard: Lacked confidence and fitness on his return to Stamford Bridge. One run almost brought a goal. 3
Subs: Federico Valverde (for Mendy 63) 6; Marco Asensio (for Vinicius 63) 6; Rodrygo (for Casemiro 76) 6. All of them tried to bring some fresh forces and new ideas but they had to suffer like the rest of the team, not because of their fault though.
Zinedine Zidane: 5.5 - Tried to set the team on field in a kind of unusual way, maybe to prevent the dynamic players of the opponent from taking over. The team focused more on possession but it turned out very fruitless. As Real controlled the game and tried to hurry to reach the goal, many spaces were left behind and the result could’ve been worse. The not so good physical state of the team and the positioning on the field helped the opponent a lot. The midfield was always suffering the strength of the opponent and could not help properly the defensive or the offensive maneuvers. Maybe it would be better to put a kind of lineup that would populate Madrid’s midfield more and maybe it would have been better to be cautious and not try to make many attacks (which were however broken too soon by Chelsea and most of the time were not based on clear ideas). The great positioning of Chelsea and their work rate made them appear in every part of the pitch, dissolving every Real Madrid attempts and on the other hand turning into a nightmare every time Real lost the ball. Players like Ramos and Hazard who are far from their best shape could’ve been benched or given little time instead of the time they were given. They proved that they were not really ready for a big match where the best form is required. Zidane’s ideas for the match may have been not too bright, but they were however affected by the team’s condition (many absences, a long season with many difficult tests, lots of physical problems for the players etc). He deserves appreciation for managing an actual weak Real Madrid which had many difficulties during the season and bringing it in this phase of the competition.
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