Real Madrid Ends Chelsea’s Champions League Reign With a Collapse and Comeback of Its Own

After an instant classic at the Bernabéu, it’s Real Madrid that’s going through, while Chelsea is left to confront its uncertain future.

Chelsea’s Champions League reign was supposed to end at the Bernabéu in Madrid Tuesday night, at least if Thomas Tuchel’s pre-match prognostications were to be taken at face value. So in one sense, he got what he expected. It’s unlikely the manager saw the exit unfolding quite like it did, though, an ouster despite victory over 120 minutes. 

Chelsea, trailing 3–1 in the Champions League quarterfinals after the first leg, played superbly away to Real Madrid, at one point even had the aggregate lead and goes down in the books as a 3–2 second-leg winner. But on a night of collapses and comebacks in the Spanish capital, Real Madrid, as it is known to do on the European stage, found the necessary resolve and the necessary goals just when it needed them. Karim Benzema’s extra-time header—his fourth goal of the tie—settled a quarterfinal for the ages, 5–4 on aggregate, and it’s Real Madrid that will face either Manchester City or city rival Atlético Madrid in the Champions League semifinals, while Chelsea relinquishes its crown and braces for its uncertain future.

Chelsea’s press, reconstituted after a shaky week, successful stifled Madrid until it got level in the tie, at which point Madrid at last began to play. This was a stunning game of football, high on quality and high on drama. The key goal, the Rodrygo equalizer that took the game to extra-time, was the result of a moment of preposterous skill from Luka Modrić. After what it was able to accomplish Tuesday, Chelsea will wonder why it was so lax in the first half of the first leg. Madrid, meanwhile, will wonder how often Modrić and Benzema can keep producing moments of brilliance just when they are needed. But it’s a duo it’ll ride at least one more round in search of the club’s 14th continental crown.

Ruben Albarran/PRESSINPHOTO/Imago Images

There was perhaps an element of fortune in the kneed volley that laid Mason Mount in to sweep the first goal beyond Thibaut Courtois after 15 minutes, but if any Chelsea player was due some good fortune it was Timo Werner, scorer of the 75th-minute goal that gave Chelsea a 3–0 lead on the day and 4–3 edge on aggregate and he who delivered the assist on the opener. But even if that ricochet to set up Mount—the first of two Werner-friendly bounces—was fortuitous, it came ultimately as a result of the pressure Chelsea had put Madrid under. The feeling before the first leg was that Madrid risked being physically overpowered, as it had been in the semifinal against Chelsea last season. Here, that came to pass.

The question then was why it hadn’t happened in the first leg. In part it was down to the Carlo Ancelotti’s tactical tweak, pulling Federico Valverde deep to help overman Chelsea in midfield, while playing Vinicius Junior high behind Reece James. But it was also to do with a failure of the Chelsea press, something that had also happened in the defeat to Brentford the previous Saturday. That was very unexpected. If there had been a criticism of Chelsea under Tuchel it was that it could be sterile, prioritizing organization over flair.

Tuchel’s despondency afterwards, insisting the tie was over, perhaps suggested he feared the uncertainty over the ownership of the club had begun to affect players after the initial sense that adversity had pulled them together. Or perhaps it was a tactic to take the pressure of his side. Either way, there was a reaction on Saturday with the 6–0 win league over Southampton. It continued Tuesday. This was a much sharper, more aggressive Chelsea, and Madrid struggled to deal with it.

Halftime might have offered Madrid the chance to regroup, but the beginning of the second half brought a renewed Chelsea surge. Madrid had been reeling for five minutes before Antonio Rüdiger headed in a right-wing corner, his first ever goal in the Champions League coming at a vital time.

What followed was a remarkably open game as though losing the lead also led Madrid to lose its inhibitions. Tuchel had said he needed chaos not control if there was to be a comeback, but that only really happened after the scores were level. Marcos Alonso had a goal ruled out for a brush of the ball against his hand. Benzema headed against the bar. It was thrilling and breathless and for a time the tie hung in the balance.

First, it tipped Chelsea’s way, with Mateo Kovačić laying in Werner. He has missed a lot of chances in his time at Chelsea, but here he calmly checked back inside two challenges before squeezing in his finish with the aid of a slight deflection. But when Madrid could have folded, it found its fortitude. Courtois made a superb low save to keep out a Kai Havertz header and then, just as Madrid seemed beaten, Modrić conjured an extraordinary cross with the outside of his right foot that Rodrygo volleyed in.

GOAL REAL MADRID! Rodrygo comes right off the bench to pull the hosts level on aggregate but WHAT a pass from Luka Modrić for the assist! 😱

4-4 on aggregate! #UCL

(via @TUDNUSA) pic.twitter.com/He5Y7XquD9

— SI Soccer (@si_soccer) April 12, 2022

That took the tie to extra time. The introduction of Eduardo Camavinga, as it had against Paris Saint-Germain in the previous round, allowed Madrid to compete more in midfield. With Romelu Lukaku out injured, Chelsea’s options from the bench looked limited. U.S. international Christian Pulisic had come on for Werner in the 83rd minute, and he had two scoring opportunities go begging. Madrid, suddenly, was the side with the greater energy and drive, and it regained the aggregate lead six minutes into extra time, with Vinicius crossing for Benzema, who capitalized on Rüdiger’s slip with a powerful 96th-minute header.

Benzema’s goals saw Madrid past PSG in the last round, and his contribution was enough to make up for an occasionally ragged Madrid display to be decisive again. Chelsea had plenty of chances to level again, but Madrid clung on. Logic would say Madrid cannot keep relying on Benzema and Modrić, but Madrid has defied logic in this competition plenty of times before.