Real Madrid touches but does not sink Chelsea

Real Madrid touches but does not sink Chelsea

Ancelotti's men sign a 2-0 in the first leg of the quarterfinals that tastes like little, superior to a rival with 10 for half an hour

MADRID, 12 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Real Madrid beat Chelsea (2-0) this Wednesday in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals held at the Santiago Bernabéu, a clash that fulfilled the favoritism of the Spanish team over the English, with goals from Benzema and Asensio.

Carlo Ancelotti's team was far superior to Frank Lampard's, despite the fact that it left some inaccuracies in the first half and lacked a bit of bite to seal the tie. The whites, after losing at home to Villarreal, resumed their fight for the fifteenth with the full conviction that Chelsea, very low hours, should not be an impediment to advance.

Not even the smell of recently fallen rain gave the English team any shelter at the Bernabéu. They were blank drops, like the bullets of a Chelsea with very little faith in their options to make something drinkable at the home of the 14-time European champion. And that the 'blue' team had two very clear ones as soon as they started, without having to look for them.

Madrid almost went too far, in the rival field from minute one and in two losses they gave away two counters to the visitors. Joao Félix wasted both of them, the first with a one-on-one option against Courtois but without speed or punch on Militao. Ancelotti's team was not fine in defense, with several losses, but up top they smelled blood just by touching the accelerator.

Benzema was the one who opened the can after 20 minutes, in his line after the World Cup as one of the best in Europe (20 goals and 5 assists to Haaland and Rashford). Without making as much noise as when he monopolized the League and Champions League spotlights for his Ballon d'Or, the Frenchman continued his streak after a shot from Vinicius, from Carvajal's center, that left Kepa 'dead' in the area.

The 1-0 fell under its own weight, although after chanting the name of Benzema, the Bernabéu linked up with that of Courtois because the Belgian drew friendly fire from Militao. The white box locked up the blue for many minutes and stole up, a feeling of unbearable overwhelm for Chelsea, with Thiago Silva taking one from 'Vini' under the sticks.

Lampard's team looked for the rival's back and some more carelessness of a Madrid that gained precision with the passing of the minutes, although the attitude of the rival invited to sentence the tie after the break. The script called for one more march for the white team but at the restart it was difficult for them to give lucidity to their attack, with distant shots from Modric and Camavinga, without going through Benzema.

Koulibaly's visitor's injury gave way to Cucurella as center back, a decision that cost the English coach dearly, as the Spanish player neglected his back and Chilwell saw the red card when knocking down Rodrygo. Lampard did not hesitate to return to the defense of five and Madrid had to deal with the already total obligation of getting a good income for the return in London next Tuesday. Again, Chelsea found it long. Vinicius, top assistant in the Champions League, perfectly interpreted Asensio's entry: he looked for him once and Cucurella cut off a goal shot.

The second, straight away, did find the shot with his left foot waiting to beat an unsuccessful Kepa (2-0). With 15 minutes to go, Asensio himself had the clearest one together with Benzema, leaving a Chelsea with some life that even had it at the end with Mount if it wasn't for Rüdiger. With three coaches this season, eleventh in the Premier, the Londoners have a small burning nail to hold on to, although it already burned them in 2021 and 2022.

--RESULT: REAL MADRID, 2 - CHELSEA, 0. (1-0, at halftime).

REAL MADRID: Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Camavinga (Rüdiger, min.71); Modric (Ceballos, min.81), Kroos (Tchouameni, min.84), Valverde; Rodrygo (Asensio, min.71), Benzema and Vinicius.

CHELSEA: Cape Town; James, Fofana, Thiago Silva (Mount, 75th min), Koulibaly (Cucurella, 55th min), Chilwell; Kovacic, Kante (Gallagher, min.75), Enzo Fernandez; Sterling (Havertz, min.65) and Joao Felix (Chalobah, min.65).

1 - 0, min.21, Benzema.

2 - 0, min.74, Asensio.

--REFEREE: François Letexier (FRA). He admonished Camavinga (min.7), Militao (min.83) and Carvajal (min.87) by Real Madrid. And to Fofana (min.6) and Kovacic (min.87) by Chelsea. He sent off Chilwell (min.59) for a direct red.

--Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.