A brave Chelsea side has been kicked out of the Champions League, bringing their reign as defending European champions to an agonising end despite beating Real Madrid on a night of high drama at the Bernabeu Stadium in Spain.
In a Champions League epic, Mason Mount’s wonderful finish and Antonio Rudiger’s powerful header wiped out Real’s 3-1 first-leg advantage and brought the quarter-final tie level in Spain’s capital.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were outstanding throughout and Timo Werner’s clever finish from an angle put them ahead for the first time on aggregate and within sight of a place in the semi-finals.
But substitute Rodrygo – after a stunning pass by Luka Modric – forced extra time with a volleyed finish before Karim Benzema, a hat-trick hero in the first leg at Stamford Bridge six days earlier, headed the decisive goal in the 96th minute to send Real through 5-4 on aggregate.
Benzema, who had earlier headed against the bar on a rollercoaster night, was unmarked when he scored to break Chelsea’s hearts after Rudiger slipped inside the box.
Even after what turned out to be the clincher, Hakim Ziyech, Kai Havertz and Jorginho went close to forcing a penalty shootout.
In the end Chelsea, who played superbly, were made to pay for their first-leg performance as Tuchel’s side fell just short of producing one of the great comebacks in the competition.
However, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel was not happy with referee Szymon Marciniak for ruling out a second-half goal that could have sealed a win for the English club.
The German head coach was furious over a decision made by VAR to rule out another second-half goal for Chelsea before they scored their third of the evening, when Marcos Alonso was adjudged to have handled before smashing the ball past Thibaut Courtois.
Marciniak ruled the goal out without checking the VAR monitor, with Tuchel claiming that officials do not have the “courage” to give decisions against Real. But it was the official’s joyful moment with Ancelotti that enraged the German the most at full-time.
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