Real Madrid 2-3 Chelsea (5-4 aggregate) (Rodrygo 80′, Benzema 96′ | Mount 15′, Rudiger 51′, Werner 75′)
Karim Benzema’s extra time header knocked Champions League holders Chelsea out and sent Real Madrid through to the semi-finals in an action-packed match at the Bernabeu.
After an end-to-end start, Mason Mount set the pace for a Chelsea-dominated first half when he curled home a well-taken opener on 15 minutes.
Real just did not respond and it went from bad to worse for the hosts after half-time when Antonio Rudiger headed home a Mount corner to level the scores on aggregate.
It would have been 3-0 had Marcos Alonso not handled the ball before firing into the top right just past the hour mark, but Timo Werner made amends with just 15 minutes to play to grab Chelsea the aggregate lead.
That was not all she wrote, however, and super sub Rodrygo’s 80th minute goal – after a superb ball in from Luka Modric – sent the tie to extra time.
In the 96th minute, up stepped the deadly Karim Benzema to head home, restore Real’s aggregate lead and send his side through to the semi-finals.
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By Daniel Storey, i‘s chief football writer at the Bernabeu
Real Madrid ceded their inherited power through a misguided strategy of sticking with what they had. After an opening 10 minutes spent chasing the ball, Chelsea dominated it, dictating the tempo of the match.
That’s no mean feat given Real’s trio of midfielders – Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos – would all be shortlisted for a team you picked to keep the ball if your life depended upon it.
But Real were complicit in that surrender of control. By leaving Karim Benzema on his own and thus isolated – in Chelsea’s half as they dropped further towards their own goal, they allowed their visitors to overload.
Thomas Tuchel nominally picked Ruben Loftus-Cheek as a right-wing back, but Reece James – picked in central defence – was able to push on as if he were a full-back and allow Loftus-Cheek to regularly underlap. That still left two centre-backs to deal with Benzema.
In the context of the away goals rule change, that approach was even more strange. Had Chelsea required at least three goals in 90 minutes, sitting back would have been more forgivable. Having exposed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by getting Vinicius Jr to pin back James, they abandoned it to err on the side of caution.
The true folly of that approach lies in Real’s best asset: control. It is an attribute far easier to establish than re-establish and far easier to cede than regain. It relies upon cool heads and composure, both of which come naturally when your team has a two-goal cushion but less so when you have conceded twice and your stadium is rocking.
Chelsea player ratings
Edouard Mendy: Mendy was rarely called into action in the first half and was left rooted by Rodrygo’s goal in the second 6/10
Reece James: James bombed up and down the flank throughout and did fairly well to contain Vinicius Junior, managing his own game well after an early yellow 7/10
Thiago Silva: Silva was strong enough at the back until he lost Rodrygo for Real’s crucial goal 6/10
Antonio Rudiger: Rudiger’s first ever European goal levelled the score on aggregate and he brought the ball out well when Chelsea were on top, but he lost the deadly Benzema for Real’s winner 7/10
Marcos Alonso: Alonso was somewhat shaky defensively but got forward well, having a goal overturned by VAR for handball just past the hour mark 6/10
Ruben Loftus-Cheek: Loftus-Cheek enjoyed plenty of time on the ball throughout but often let himself down with sloppy errors, becoming more anonymous as the game went on 5/10
N’Golo Kante: Kante buzzed about the pitch, venturing high, low and wide from his central midfield berth in an admirable performance 7/10
Mateo Kovacic: Kovacic progressed play well and played Werner in sweetly for Chelsea’s third goal 7/10
Mason Mount: Mount was a constant pressing threat, took his opening goal supremely well and set up Rudiger’s header. He could have levelled in the last minutes of extra time 8/10
Kai Havertz: Havertz had the least direct impact of Chelsea’s front three but was nevertheless an effective presser in Chelsea’s high forward line 7/10
Timo Werner: Werner was also relentless in the press and, though it was somewhat fortuitous, assisted Mount’s opener before grabbing Chelsea’s third with a calmly taken finish 8/10
Substitutes
Christian Pulisic: Pulisic came on for Werner on 83 minutes and missed two added time chances 5/10
Hakim Ziyech: Subbed on for Kante on 99 minutes; notably denied by Courtois in the 114th at the near post 6/10
Saul Niguez: Replaced Kovacic in the 105th minute but had no effect 6/10
Jorginho: Came on alongside Saul and dragged wide a chance at the last when he should have done better 5/10
Real Madrid player ratings
Thibaut Courtois 5, Dani Carvajal 6, Nacho Fernandez 5, David Alaba 6, Ferland Mendy 6, Luka Modric 7, Casemiro 6, Toni Kroos 5, Federico Valverde 6, Karim Benzema 8, Vinicius Junior 7, Eduardo Camavinga 7, Rodrygo 8, Marcelo 6, Lucas Vazquez 6, Dani Ceballos 6
Kante stop, won’t stop
By James Gray
Plenty of midfielders can tear around the pitch making massive tackles and roaring through creative players, making sure every opposition player within 100 yards knows exactly where they are at all times.
Not many can quietly appear at every key juncture and, with the minimum of effort, poke the ball away and snuff out the danger.
It was why the removal of N’Golo Kante from proceedings in the first leg, after 45 minutes in which Real Madrid doubled the tally of goals they managed against him last season in 180, was so uncharacteristic.
Manager Thomas Tuchel admitted it was a tactical one to change shape, but it was also perhaps because conceding twice in 45 minutes out be an indication that Kante is not quite right.
You could forgive him for not feeling right. Kante is after all observing Ramadan and could only break his fast a few minutes before kick-off. That said, Karim Benzema was in the same situation when he tormented Chelsea at Stamford Bridge just a week ago.
But on this showing at the Bernabeu, Kante runs mostly on adrenaline and the Champions League anthem.
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