Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid: 5 talking points as Rodrygo brace sends holders into semi-finals | UEFA Champions League 2022-23
Real Madrid reached the semi-finals of the Champions League after beating Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday and winning the tie 4-0 on aggregate.
Rodrygo was the scorer of both their goals in west London as the Blues were left to rue missed chances.
Frank Lampard's side started the match brightly as they dominated possession and created good chances, but N'Golo Kante and Marc Cucurella were both guilty of missing two great opportunities.
Los Blancos punished them for the same when Rodrygo put them in front just 13 minutes into the restart, tapping home a pass from Vinicius Junior from six yards.
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FT: Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid (0-4 agg)
Another semi-final spot awaits Carlo Ancelotti and Los Blancos as Frank Lampard's Blues bow out! ⚪️🟣
#UCL https://t.co/Q0g90RjOTb
The visitors held the momentum thereafter and doubled their advantage with just 10 minutes of normal time remaining as Rodrygo came back to haunt Chelsea.
The Premier League side are now guaranteed to finish the season without a trophy, while Real Madrid face either Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Here are the five talking points from the match:
#5 Chelsea started the game stronger
Despite starting with several inexperienced players, Chelsea began the game stronger, keeping possession and moving the ball around quickly to create a few chances.
For large spells of the opening 30 minutes, Real Madrid were pegged back into their own half and forced to defend their lead as the Blues looked determined to claw their way back into the tie.
📸 Great save from Thibaut Courtois to deny Marc Cucurella. #UCL https://t.co/i03axmJKph
Only some poor finishing kept them from going in front.
N'Golo Kante sliced a shot wide from 12 yards out in the 10th minute despite being unmarked when he got the ball, while Marc Cucurella fired straight at Thibaut Courtois from six yards in the added minutes of the opening stanza.
#4 Real Madrid punish Chelsea for defensive lapse
Chelsea's wastefulness eventually came back to haunt them as Real Madrid went in front early in the second half, thanks to their own defensive lapse.
Eder Militao sent Rodrygo clear on the right and the winger cruised past Trevoh Chalobah into the 18-yard box to square it for Benzema, who failed to connect with it, but Vinicius Junior was on hand to control the ball and cut it back for Rodrygo to tap home from six yards out.
And just like that, the tie was effectively settled as Los Blancos were now 3-0 ahead on aggregate. Chelsea had done so well for themselves until then, but a combination of factors like missing their own chances and leaving acres of space behind ultimately cost them.
Rodrygo would add the icing on the cake with a second goal late on.
#3 The last of Chelsea in the Champions League for a while
For the second year in a row, Chelsea were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Real Madrid, but this could be their last match in the competition in a while.
Having accrued only 39 points from 31 games in the Premier League this season, the Blues are languishing in 11th position, well out of any European spot right now, let alone the Champions League.
Frank Lampard's side are 17 points behind the top four and 14 off the last European spot, and with only seven games remaining into their campaign, don't have enough opportunities to salvage a finish inside the Champions League places.
That means we aren't going to see them in Europe's premier club tournament until at least September 2024, and that's only if the west London side is able to rebuild themselves next season from the current disaster.
#2 Joao Felix's nightmare against Real Madrid continues
Joao Felix has scored 63 goals in his club career, but not a single one has come against Real Madrid despite facing the side eight times in total.
He came off the bench in the 67th minute for Conor Gallagher when the score was still only 1-0 as Frank Lampard sought to get something out of the match.
But the Portuguese brought very little to the table - he saw a meek shot blocked inside the six-yard box and then fired one from distance over the bar in stoppage time.
On loan from Atletico Madrid, Felix had failed to score against the side in six Madrid derbies with the Rojiblancos, as the 23-year-old always endured poor luck against Real Madrid.
He's also never ended up on the winning side in any of his eight appearances against them. Truly, the former Benfica star must be sick of the sight of the Whites now.
#1 Real Madrid to face another familiar foe in the semis?
Real Madrid's knockout run in the Champions League so far has been familiar - they faced Liverpool in the last-16, having beaten them in the finals last year, and prevailed over Chelsea in the quarter-finals for the second year in a row.
Now, another familiar opposition is potentially on the cards as Manchester City have all but sealed their place in the last four after beating Bayern Munich 3-0 in the first leg.
Last season, City and Madrid served up an absolute thriller that ended in a 6-5 aggregate win for Real Madrid, who fought back from a 4-3 first-leg deficit to win 3-1 at home.
With City since adding Erling Haaland to their squad, it will be interesting to see how many goals we get to see in the tie this time around. Or would Bayern miraculously score four against them tonight and send them out?