(Real Madrid-Chelsea 2–3 eeo, 5–4 overall) When it mattered most, there was it again, Karim Benzema (34), sending Real Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals with a beautiful header.
Real Madrid will face either Manchester City or Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals, to be decided on Wednesday.
– For some champions, for the match, TV 2’s Jesper Matissen shouted at the Real Madrid players when the referee exploded after extra games.
Magical moments from Modric and Benzema that sent Real Madrid to the semi-finals, said Peter Mayer of TV 2 after the match.
– It should not be possible to hit such a post with the outside of the foot from this position, – said Matissen, – but perhaps only Luka Modric in the world can, and he does it in a masterful way.
This magic revolves more in this case.
Chelsea, the Champions League holders, had a big task ahead on Tuesday night. They lost 1-3 at home last Wednesday, but gave Real Madrid a real fight for the semi-final spot on Tuesday night.
“We deserved to go ahead, but we weren’t lucky enough,” Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel said in an interview shown on TV 2.
During the two games we made one, two or three very big mistakes, but today we weren’t so lucky. Tuchel believes there was only one team worth moving forward.
All was in place for another semi-final for Real Madrid, who are chasing their eighth Champions League title. Real Madrid opened the best, but after just 15 minutes Mason Mount put the ball into the net for the London guest, a tiny fist in the middle of the woods for all whites.
Chelsea had more.
Six minutes after the end of the first half, Antonio Rudiger stepped up from a corner kick and hit a 2-0 lead. The corner kick was brilliantly hit by Mason Mount, who scored the first goal.
Expectations were high for what French veteran Karim Benzema could achieve after hat-trick against both Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the Champions League in recent weeks.
But Benzema did not find his way to the goal in the original time.
Timo Werner did the trick. A quarter of an hour before full-time, he pulled Casemiro, who went straight down his butt and sat down, pulled Werner and fired. The ball went through a slight change of direction and into the goal.
We are talking about one of the biggest comebacks in Champions League history, said TV 2 commentator Oyvind Alsaker when Chelsea were still ahead.
After 78 minutes, Real Madrid coach Carlos Ancelotti removed Casemiro and put Rodrygo in the center. It took two minutes before it came to fruition. With a superb, crazy and goosebumps pass off the right foot of Luka Modric, Rodrygo pulled it off perfectly in front of goal. Rodrygo takes a shot and shoots it into the goal through the wide side of ten meters. Modric’s charm was at the highest level.
Thus, the teams were again the same distance, 4-4 in length.
And when it came to the best, Karim Benzema was there. Six minutes into extra time, it was the 34-year-old giant who stabbed the ball into the goal. Of course it was.
Benzema handed it over and handed it over, and when he decided again, it exploded at the Madrid stadium. Santiago Bernabeu is Benzema’s stadium. He clenched his arm and tightened his grip on the home fans who deserted for joy at the 34-year-old.
After the match, he and Modric patted his mouth with big smiles, while the broken Chelsea players walked around with tears in their eyes.
Chelsea is out.
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