Benzema’s goal in overtime took Real Madrid to the semifinals of the Champions League
Real Madrid suffered a 2-3 defeat at the hands of Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-final.
The encounter took place at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid.
| Read also – Villarreal drew with Bayern and reached the semifinals of the Champions League |
Goals: Mount, 15 (0:1). Rüdiger, 51 (0:2). Werner, 75 (0:3). Rodrigo, 80 (1:3). Benzema, 96 (2:3).
Line up:
| Courtois, Carvajal, Alaba, Nacho (Vazquez, 88), Mendy (Marcelo, 78), Kroos (Camavanga, 73), Modrić, Casemiru (Rodrigo, 78), Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Júnior (Ceballos, 115). | Mendy, Rüdiger, Alonso, Tiago Silva, James, Kante (Ziyes, 100), Kovacic (Jorginho, 106), Loftus-Cheek (Saul, 106), Mount, Havertz, Werner (Pulisic, 83). |
Warnings: Benzema, 37′. Valverde, 68′. Kamawinga, 90+1′. Carvajal, 118′. James, 10′. Ziesch, 102′. Haverz, 109′. Aspilicueta, 113′.
Referee: Marciniak (Poland).
Head coach Thomas Tuchel, said his Chelsea team needs nothing but a fantastic scenario to reach the semifinals.
The match began with the initiative of the visitors, who rushed to win back after a setback in the first match. Already in the 15th minute, they managed to score the first goal. Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s pass was deflected into the midfield and Mount struck a clinical shot on Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
Just after the start of the second half, on 55 minutes, Chesley doubled their lead thanks to a goal from a corner by Rüdiger, who picked the perfect time to score a goal, as the German brilliantly headed in a header from Mount’s corner.
After the second goal, Real came alive and began to play more aggressively, and Cross’ dangerous moment forced the first save of the match by goalkeeper Mendy. It seemed too late when N’Golo Kante picked out Marcos Alonso, who headed the ball into the goal at the second attempt. However, the Spaniard’s attempt was ruled invalid after a VAR review.
But Chelsea did score a third goal 12 minutes later, scored by Timo Werner. Mateo Kovacic had a brilliant pass to Werner who dribbled through the Real’s defense from the left flank and saw his shot deflected and then beat Courtois in the 75th minute.
That goal meant Chelsea would advance to the next round, but Real did not give up so easily, Luka Modrić picked out substitute Rodrigo with a superb right-footed shot, and the Brazilian with a magnificent first-time strike tied the overall score at 4-4 five minutes later. That goal sent the teams into extra time.
| Real Madrid | 2:3 | Chelsea |
| 43% | POSSESSION | 57% |
| 18 | SHOTS | 49 |
| 3 | CORNERS | 15 |
| 2.58 | XG | 4.58 |
Benzema, who did not play much in regulation time, scored in the first half of overtime in the 96th minute. A beautiful pass from Vinicius Júnior to Benzema’s head allowed Real Madrid to advance to the next round of the Champions League.
