By Mariano López V.
After finishing the first leg, where his team - the reigning European champions - fell 3-1 in London against Real Madrid, Thomas Tuchel was blunt. "At this moment the tie is not alive. Why not? Because we have to recover our level and I don't know where it is. Individually, we are lost. You cannot expect a positive result from this kind of performance," said the German coach. A wake-up call? Pure honesty? A distraction strategy? Whatever it was, it worked almost to perfection.
The 'Blues' imposed the conditions of the game from the first minute, facing an asleep, perhaps relaxed by the result of the first leg, Real Madrid side. Intensity and high recovery were some characteristics exhibited by the English team, who managed to go into halftime with a 1-0 lead (Mason Mount, 15'). The objective was clear: to become the second team in Champions League history to reverse a tie where they lost, at home, by two goals difference.
YOU CAN SEE: Carlo Ancelotti praised the fans who attended the Santiago Bernabeu
In the second half, Tuchel's team continued to threaten the goal defended by Belgian Thibaut Courtois. All the pushing had its result. In collusion with the mistakes of a weak Madrid defense (Eder Militao, an undisputed starter, was not present due to suspension), Antonio Rudiger from a corner kick (51') and Timo Werner after a great individual play (75') temporarily put Chelsea in the semifinals of the tournament.
However, the opponent was a team that you can never count out. Worse yet if their '9' is Karim Benzema, the striker of the moment. In the 80th minute, after a series of weighty substitutions (Kroos and Casemiro came off), Rodrygo equalized the aggregate score and sent everything to extra time. A decisive ground, conducive for Benzema to enlarge his status as a legend. The 'Gato' received a cross from Vinicius Jr. - his most frequent assister - and with a header beat the visiting goal (96'), becoming the first Frenchman to score 12 goals in the same edition of a European competition. And Real? Once again in the semifinals...
YOU CAN SEE: Tuchel critical and disappointed with the refereeing in Real Madrid vs. Chelsea in the Champions League
Surprise: Villarreal eliminated Bayern Munich in Germany
Miracle. After winning 1-0 at home in the first leg, Villarreal drew 1-1 agonizingly against Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and will play in the Champions League semifinals for the second time in its history. The first time was in the 2005/06 season, where they faced Arsenal. Robert Lewandowski scored the opener of the match (52'), but a counterattack ended in the equalizer (Chukwueze, 88') and elimination, for the second consecutive edition, of Bayern in the quarterfinals. Now, the Spanish team will face the winner of the tie between Liverpool and Benfica, who clash today (2:00 p.m.) at Anfield. The 'Reds' have a 3-1 advantage.
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Efficiency. Villarreal only had one shot on goal. It was the goal. Photo: courtesy
The word
Luka Modric, midfielder of Real Madrid
"The coach (Ancelotti) made great changes that did us good. We knew it would be a difficult match, but in the end we showed a lot of character, desire, and unity. The fans helped us to achieve it."