When Ben Chilwell grabbed them arm of Rodrygo, it sucked the ability out of Chelsea's ability to truly feel competitive against Real Madrid in the first leg. Of course, the Blues managed to create some chances but Chilwell's departure recorded among the biggest cheers of that night and whipped the Bernabeu crowd up into a frenzy.
At 1-0, Chelsea had struggled but were always just one moment away from leaving their opponents in difficulty. After the red card, they were forced to lose any attacking impetus and to withstand pressure, a dangerous game as Marco Asensio proved.
It was perhaps a situation Chelsea should not have found themselves in as Marc Cucurella was too slow to respond to Rodrygo's run before Chilwell is too keen to make the foul. This was not a guaranteed goal given the pressure the Real star was under and without a simple finish with Kepa Arrizabalaga still to beat from an angle.
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As Jamie Carragher explained: "For me, Cucurella is at fault but that [the sending off] is even more at fault,' he said. "Don’t pull someone back and give a red card away. The reason you pay a goalkeeper is to do his job and to get you out of trouble defensively – that’s what he’s there for! Let him do his job. You’re then down to 10 men, he’s now going to miss the second leg, and it still would have been difficult for Rodrygo to score from there."
He added: "Going down to 10 men could have completely taken them out of that tie. There’s still a glimmer of hope, but defensively from Cucurella that was really poor and then Chilwell, the second part of it, his positional play and also getting the red card – let your goalkeeper do his job!"
The question arises, was this a momentary lapse from Chilwell or a sign of deeper mistrust in his goalkeeper. The Blues being without a primary attacking threat for the second leg served little purpose in the end. Chelsea have a new goalkeeper among their summer transfer priorities, with both Kepa and Édouard Mendy set to enter the final two years of their deal.
The Spanish stopper has produced some mesmerising outings this season, but never proved to convince supporters after errors earlier on his career and a lack conviction in his own area. Likewise, Mendy has produced some stellar performances in his time at Stamford Bridge but his star has waned following his first 12 months and after talks of a new deal last summer, none has progressed.
If Chilwell's decision was in part due to the protection in front of his goal, even on a subconscious level, it only serves to prove achelsea must attempt to find someone that brings the same aura as Thibaut Courtois. The Belgian produced multiple occasions of one-against-one dominance in making saves against Raheem Sterling and João Felix and Chelsea's defence needs that same confidence.
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