Real also beats Chelsea in London and reaches Champions League semifinals
NOS Soccer–
Real Madrid beat Chelsea also in the return of the Champions League quarter-finals. As in Bernabéu, it was 2-0 for the Royal, who will advance to the semifinals.
Chelsea thus also lost their fourth match since the return of coach Frank Lampard.
In the last four, either Manchester City or Bayern Munich will be the opponent of defending champion Real, probably City after the Englishmen’s 3-0 win in Manchester last week. Tomorrow is the return.
In addition to Real, AC Milan also reached the last four of the Champions League tonight. The fourth quarterfinal will be between Internazionale and Benfica (2-0) tomorrow.
Misses Kanté and Cucurella
The 2021 winner (Chelsea) and the cup holder (Real) met in the knockout stage for the third year in a row. Chelsea could have made it exciting, but N’Golo Kanté and Marc Cucurella failed from close range. Kanté shot wide from close range and Thibaut Courtois made a phenomenal save on Cucurella.
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EPA
Thibaut Courtois (r) saves on Marc Cucurella (l) -
Reuters
Rodrygo cheers, Chelsea mourns
At Real, the danger came mainly from Vinícius Júnior. The Brazilian shot first at the fists of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after just under half an hour. In the 41st minute, Vinícius was again close to a goal, but he did not handle the ball well after a Luka Modric cross.
Double strike Rodrygo
Furthermore, Rodrygo hit the outside of the post on behalf of Real and Karim Benzema shot into the side netting from a difficult position after a cross from Federico Valverde. Kanté missed another chance after halftime and then Spain’s number two did strike.
On a pass from Vinícius Júnior, Rodrygo scored, shortly after he passed Trevoh Chalobah. Chelsea did not recover from that blow. The 0-2 was also scored by the Brazilian Rodrygo, after a beautiful attack and Valverde’s cross.
