Luka Modric changed the tie, and Karim Benzema won it for Real Madrid as they came back from a goal down to beat Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate in a thrilling Champions League quarter-final.
Against all odds, Chelsea came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu. Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger, and Timo Werner scored to put Europe’s reigning champions on the brink of an incredible victory for Chelsea.
And then Modric came in with another brilliant move, setting up a goal for Rodrygo with a sumptuous pass outside his right foot and sending a nerve-shredding match into extra time. He’s 36 years old.
If you score three goals at Stamford Bridge, you’re done for the night. Then Benzema comes up and scores the winner, taking advantage of a Rudiger slip to head in the winner, which sends Madrid into the semifinals.
After the game, Carlo Ancelotti said, “You can never think that anything has been lost at the Bernabeu.” “I can’t explain it, but there’s a magic in this stadium that makes you better at what you do.”
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At the end of the game, Modric and Benzema both fell to the ground, their combined 70 years of age betraying yet another two vintage contributions that have put Real Madrid on the brink of a 14th European Cup victory.
They’ll face either Manchester City or Atletico Madrid in the last four as long as they win.
It was bad for Chelsea last week when Brentford beat them and then lost to Madrid in the first leg. Chelsea came into the second leg feeling better after beating Southampton 6-1 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Thomas Tuchel said on Monday that they would need a “fantastic script” to pull off this comeback, and they did just that. Their only mistake was not being able to stop Modric and Benzema from doing what they had done so many times before.
“We didn’t get what we wanted, so we’re down,” said Tuchel. “Our abilities and our flaws beat us. We should have been able to go.”
Mount’s goal in the 15th minute set the tone for the rest of the game. Madrid was immediately tense, and Chelsea was given hope.
Mateo Kovacic played a big role in the build-up, but it was Ruben Loftus-quick Cheek’s pass into Werner that caught Real Madrid off guard. Werner steered the ball with his knee into the path of Mount, who ran and fired past Thibaut Courtois.
Chelsea led for about 20 minutes, but then Madrid came back. To stop Vinicius Junior from leaving, Reece James did a great job.
Chelsea is in charge.
Benzema, Modric, and Toni Kroos tried to take back control, but Chelsea’s power grew even more in the second half. Rudiger rose high at the back post to head home from a corner.
At first, Madrid tried to fight back. The crowd was getting more and more excited. That goal came when Marcos Alonso swivelled around Dani Carvajal’s sliding tackle and hit it right into the top corner for Chelsea’s third goal.
Madrid looked beaten, and the stadium was empty, but the referee was still there. VAR saw that Alonso was controlling the ball with his hand, and when the decision was changed, the Bernabeu went crazy.
A minute and a half later, the tie was again up for grabs. Madrid had a new sense of urgency and almost scored, but Benzema’s header at the back post hit the crossbar.
And it was short-lived. Kovacic put Werner through, who coolly skimmed past two sliding Real Madrid players and sent a deflected finish into the corner in the third minute of stoppage time. Chelsea came back in the 73rd minute.
As soon as the game got crazy again, Kroos was taken off. Kroos was very disappointed. A 30-yard pass went over to Rodrygo, who came on as a substitute.
Chelsea looked like they were going to score a last-minute winner and almost did. Kai Havertz sent a ball across the six-yard box, but Christian Pulisic missed.
It was into extra time, and Madrid went into overdrive. Vinicius finally found a spot where he could get his hands on the ball. Rudiger might have been easy to get his hands on his cross, but the German defender fell, giving Benzema just enough space to get his head on the ball and score.
Chelsea, who had been very calm all night, looked a little ragged. Eduardo Camavinga fired a shot over. Cruyff turned around Havertz.
But in the last few minutes, they tried to do everything they could to get to Madrid. Courtois saved Werner’s shot, and Fede Valverde blocked Thiago Silva’s shot. Edouard Mendy went up for the last corner, but Madrid blocked it.
