UCL
Real Madrid secured their spot in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals after defeating Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday night.
Madrid welcomed back the trio Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Vinicius Junior from the win at Cadiz, while Chelsea were without the suspended Ben Chilwell and benched Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling.
As the host needed to overturn the deficit from the first-leg, midfielder N’Golo Kante nearly gave them the ideal start with a snap shot in the area from Reece James’ cross but he sent his effort wide of the mark.
Los Blancos responded over 20 minutes gone in which Rodrygo gathered a ball from Dani Carvajal off a short link-up and smartly re-directed position to shoot against the upright.
Chelsea did have a large portion of possession, but the European champions continued to have the better of the chances and tested goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga on a number of occasions.
However, a golden chance came for the host before halftime where a ball from James rolled through to an unmarked Marc Cucurella to profit but Thibaut Courtois had other ideas.
The LaLiga giants introduced a substitution following the start of the second half where Antonio Rudiger came on and took the place of fellow defender David Alaba.
Madrid weathered the storm after halftime and took the lead when a break-away 12 minutes from the interval saw Vinicius lay the ball off to Rodrygo to slot in at the near post.
With the aggregate lead extended, the host looked for a life-line and closed-in off a fierce shot outside target by Enzo Fernandez but Courtois smothered.
Rodrygo completed a brace in the last ten minutes when he beat Arrizabalaga to a cross from Federico Valverde and slotted in an empty net.
Madrid continued to have the overall dominance in the final stages to full-time and safely booked spot in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 4-0 aggregate win.
About Post Author
