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Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid: Post-Match Analysis and Notable Performances

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Chelsea have finally reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League Finals after 9 long years. An energetic team performance allowed Chelsea to white-wash Real Madrid by 2-0(3-1 on aggregate) at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night. This will be the third All-English final of all time after Chelsea-Manchester United(2008) and Tottenham-Liverpool(2019).

Real Madrid remain winless against English sides for the 5th game running. Chelsea will be looking forward to their third Champions League finals. Only Manchester United and Liverpool have played more Champions League finals(4).

This is Thomas Tuchel’s second consecutive Champions League Final after leading PSG to the finals last year. After holding Real to a 1-1 draw in the away leg, London’s biggest club didn’t fail to put up a show.

Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid: Team News

Tuchel made one change to the squad that held Real a week ago. No change was done to the 3-5-2 formation with Cesar Azpilicueta and Mason Mount playing on the wing. Kai Havertz led the formation instead of Christian Pulisic alongside Timo Werner.

Sergio Ramos returned to lead the Spanish side leaving Rafael Varane on the bench. Ferland Mendy and former Chelsea superstar Eden Hazard started ahead of Dani Carvajal and Marcelo. Zinedine Zidane clearly wanted to go on the front foot but failed miserably.

Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid: Post Match Analysis

The match kicked off and both sides looked to capitalise the game in the first 30 minutes. Any sign of weak defending was punished at sight and the players fought for the ball all throughout the pitch. The first real chance however did not fall for Real.

Chilwell burst down the left flank and send a perfectly weighted ball that rolled past 2 defenders to reach Werner. The German made no mistake and slotted it past the onrushing Thibaut Courtois. However, he was offside by a yard. Minutes later, Benzema received a short pass from Toni Kroos at the edge of the box and curled the ball brilliantly towards the far corner. Eduardo Mendy matched the brilliance with an outstanding save, not his first of the night.

The home side broke the deadlock in the very next minute. N’Golo Kante linked up with the forwards before sneaking a pass to set Havertz on goal. His smart clip bounced off the crossbar for an alert Timo Werner to nod home from a yard out. He certainly made up for his miss from the away fixture.

Real got more threatening and bombed crosses in a desperate bid to find an equalizer. Luka Modric swung in a vicious ball that Benzema perfectly connected to. Yet again, Benzema’s quality was matched by an impenetrable Mendy. Chelsea stood strong 1-0 at half-time.

90 seconds into the second half, Azpilicueta swung in a cross and Havertz rose highest only to rattle the crossbar once again. 5 minutes later Werner clipped to ball to Mount and the English International burst through to go one-on-one with Courtois. However, his right footed strike rocketed above the goal. The next minute it was Havertz and 10 minutes after that it was Kante. But Courtois stood defiant.

Finally in the 85th minute, Kante stole possession and slid it to Pulisic. Captain America held the defence at the by-line before setting up for Mount who blasted the ball into the empty net. Real Madrid were simply not good enough and lacked command.

Notable Performances:

N’Golo Kante(9/10)[MOTM]: This machine has 6 lungs. He was all over the pitch and shut down Real Madrid’s midfield.

Eduardo Mendy(8/10): Chelsea’s No.1 was an unbreakable wall. He pulled a string of fine saves before Real finally shut down.

Thibaut Courtois(7/10): Conceded 2 goals but put out an impressive performance to deny Chelsea especially in the second half.

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