Report, reaction and analysis
Congratulations to Chelsea, then. They thoroughly deserved to progress to the final, having proved themselves better than Real Madrid in both legs, and by quite some distance tonight. They’ve set up an all-English final against Manchester City on 29 May. No doubt you’ll be hearing about that soon. In the meantime, thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe. Nighty night!
A delighted Thomas Tuchel speaks to BT Sport. “We deserved to win. The first half was difficult, they had a lot of possession and made us suffer, but every ball from us was dangerous. We were dangerous with counter attacks. We never lost the hunger, the desire to defend. In the second half, it was an even better structure to defend. We could have scored so much earlier, so much more to be safe, but now is no time for criticism. It is a fantastic achievement and big congratulations to the team. To hang in there, even if you miss big chances, you never lose focus. It was a huge performance. I am very happy that we achieved this. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to live my life in football. This passion as a profession, I am more than grateful. It is not done yet, we want to go all the way, we arrive in Istanbul to win!”
A word with Thomas Tuchel is surely in the pipeline ... but while we wait, David Hytner’s report has landed. Clickity click!
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta, his smile sparkling, speaks to BT. “It was a massive performance for the team. We knew we had a tough opponent but we performed really well and could have scored more goals. In the second half we were clearly better. We had to suffer but we fought really hard. We have one more step, we want to go to the final to try to win it. For me, this is massive, we have plenty of things to fight for with some massive weeks coming up. We have played Manchester City a lot of times, but we believe in ourselves and are ready for it!”
Glass-half-empty dept. “This creates a bit of a headache for Tuchel at the weekend now, doesn’t it (not that he’ll worry about that this evening)?” begins David Wall, with reference to the Premier League fixture between Chelsea and City. “He’ll not want to give City a psychological advantage in the head to head (especially after their home result), and can’t afford to ease up in the chase for a top-four finish. But on the other hand, will he want to mothball some of his better players in case of injury before the final?”
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A delighted Mason Mount talks to BT. “I can’t put it into words at the moment. It was a great performance. We should have had about five, but the most important thing is that we won. To get that goal late on, you could see by the celebrations how massive it was, giving us breathing space in the last five minutes. We gave it everything, we had that desire, we wanted to win. I haven’t won anything yet, but we have two massive cup finals, and hopefully we can win. The final is going to be a stunning game.”
Chelsea gambol around Stamford Bridge as One Step Beyond blares out of the PA. They were certainly quite a few steps ahead of Real Madrid tonight, who were as impotent as Chelsea were superb. Sure, the hosts passed up quite a few gilt-edged chances, but at least they made them in the first place, and in a more clinical mood they could easily have thrashed the 13-time champions of Europe by five or six. Two will do, though. A second all-English final in three years is on!
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FULL TIME: Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid (agg 3-1)
Chelsea can book their tickets to Istanbul! They’ll face Manchester City at the Ataturk Stadium on May 29 in the 2021 Champions League final!
90 min +4: Giroud comes on for the excellent Havertz.
90 min +3: Chelsea have been sensational tonight. A 6-0 scoreline wouldn’t have flattered them. James tries to make it three with a low drive that sails just wide left.
90 min +2: What a job Tuchel has done! A penny for Frank Lampard’s thoughts. Should Chelsea win the Champions League, he’ll become the Andre Villas-Boas de nos jours.
90 min +1: Thomas Tuchel will become the first manager to contest back-to-back European Cup finals with different clubs, having taken PSG there last season.
90 min: Valverde is booked for a frustrated trundle into the back of Pulisic. There will be four added minutes, though this is all over.
89 min: Eden Hazard won’t have enjoyed his return to Stamford Bridge. He trudges off, to be replaced by Mariano Diaz.
88 min: Mount is sensibly replaced by Ziyech - nobody wants to see him red-carded and suspended for the final - while James comes on for Azpilicueta.
87 min: Chelsea celebrated that clincher in the expressive style. Joy abounds. Mount, still high on life, is booked for an over-enthusiastic lunge on Militao.
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GOAL! Chelsea 2-0 Real Madrid (Mount 85); agg 3-1
Kante wins the ball in the Real half and drives down the inside-right channel. He slips Pulisic into the box. Pulisic considers shooting from a tight angle, but draws Courtois instead, executes a dragback, and rolls into the centre for Mount, who slams home from six yards! If any goal had ever been coming, it was this one. Istanbul ahoy!
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84 min: “Barring an absolute howler I think Per can relax,” writes Mary Waltz. “Chelsea is constantly threatening, even when Real begins an attack Chelsea calmly nicks the ball back and goes to attack. Real is completely undone.” Mary knows what she’s talking about, too, because ...
83 min: Asensio probes down the left but can’t get the better of Azpilicueta, who knocks out for a throw. From that, Nacho whips to the far post, where Rodrygo lurks. He competes for a header, but is never going to beat Rudiger. And yet that’s the closest Real have come for quite some time.
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81 min: Pulisic has been a complete menace since coming on. He’s slipped into space down the right by Kante, then swivels and pulls a shot across the face of goal and wide left. Just a half-chance, that one, but they keep on coming.
79 min: A long ball down the middle nearly opens up Chelsea, as Benzema traps and turns elegantly into space, only to lose control of his own feet just as a chance to shoot beckoned. A reminder that, while this should have been over a long time ago, it isn’t quite yet.
77 min: Pulisic causes more bother down the right and whistles a peach of a ball along the corridor of uncertainty. Mount can’t bundle home. The sheer number of chances Chelsea have created, and passed up, is quite astonishing, and you can understand their fans beginning to worry. “Is it only me that’s getting STRONG whiffs of THAT semifinal against Barca 2009?” wonders a concerned Per Vestlund. “For each clear chance we spurn it’s getting closer and closer to that. Oh, the humanity!”
76 min: Zidane has to roll the dice now, and he makes an attacking change, replacing the holding midfielder Casemiro with the young Brazilian winger Rodrygo.
75 min: Courtois shanks a simple clearance out of play for a throw. Real have shown very little composure in this second half.
73 min: Pulisic shimmies down the right and wins a corner off Nacho. Mount takes. Silva wins a header, six yards out, but glances it wide left. On target, and Courtois was beaten all ends up. How on earth have Chelsea not scored a second goal?
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72 min: Kroos goes in the book for a crude whack on Pulisic.
71 min: Pulisic turns on the jets to zip past Casemiro. He reaches the byline on the right and cuts back. Nobody’s kept up with him and Courtois claims easily. Once again, though, the Real defence was broken through with absurd ease.
69 min: Chelsea slow things down a little, the clock their friend. Real have done very little to worry the hosts. They’ve been staggeringly impotent so far.
67 min: A shot of Tuchel responding to that latest miss. I’m no lip-reader, but it looked like he was effing and jeffing in the grand style. And so Chelsea make their first change. Werner is replaced by the hero of the first leg, Pulisic.
66 min: ... miss another huge chance! Werner drives at the Real back line before slipping wide left for Kante, who enters the box and slams straight into Courtois. The opportunities Chelsea have wasted! If Real do manage to score, these misses are going to eat away at them.
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65 min: Nothing happens at the corner, but Werner clips Nacho down the right and it’s a free kick. Kroos takes. Azpilicueta clears. Chelsea fly up the other end and ...
64 min: Real mix it up, replacing Mendy and Vinicius Junior with Asensio and Valverde. Immediately things start to happen, Asensio driving hard from a tight angle to instigate some pinball in the Chelsea box. Corner.
62 min: Nacho and Havertz wrestle on the ground. No rug or fireplace. Nacho takes Havertz by the collar, in the old why-I-oughta style. He’s risking a red, but the referee just shows yellow. Not entirely sure why that threatened to escalate so quickly, it started as a garden-variety tussle.
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61 min: Vinicius diddles Chilwell down the right with an exquisite spin and burst of speed. His dinked cross is easily cleared by Chelsea, but that’s better from Real. Some proper attacking intent at last.
59 min: Chelsea spurn another huge chance. A simple ball over the top down the middle, and Havertz is clean through! He looks to sidefoot into the bottom left, and is denied by Courtois, who hacks away brilliantly. He shouldn’t have been given the chance, though. Havertz was unlucky upon hitting the bar twice, but that’s a bad miss.
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58 min: Casemiro tries to up the tempo a bit, barging down the middle only to be denied by Rudiger’s sliding tackle, then crossing from the right, his cross plucked from the sky calmly by Mendy. It’s an improvement, but it’s been a low bar.
57 min: Chelsea look extremely comfortable. Real are finding it very difficult to get passes to stick in Chelsea’s half.
55 min: At the moment, Real are a shapeless, low-energy rabble. You wouldn’t put it past them to snap into gear spectacularly, but they’ll have to get their gamefaces on quicksmart if that’s to happen.
53 min: The centre of Real’s defence opens obligingly, allowing Werner to flick Mount into acres of space. He romps into the box and should dink the ball over Courtois and into the net ... but opts for power instead, and blooters deep into the Matthew Harding Stand. That’s a huge opportunity spurned.
52 min: The free kick’s whipped in. Thiago Silva rises highest, on the penalty spot, but can’t keep his header down. The ball sails harmlessly over the bar. Chelsea will be more than pleased, though; they’ve been the better team since the restart, with Real showing no signs of applying any pressure and seeing if they can exploit any Chelsea nerves.
51 min: Chilwell drifts in from the left and is clipped by a frustrated Vinicius Junior. A free kick in a dangerous position, and a chance to load the box. Chilwell to get up and take it himself.
50 min: Real stroke it about, but Chelsea hold their shape. “This is where Tuchel’s defensive mind should excel,” writes Arnav Salu. “Could say he was hired for these moments alone.”
48 min: You have to say Havertz has already more than justified his selection over Pulisic, having hit the bar twice now. A matter of inches away from his second two-goal haul in five days.
47 min: Azpilicueta is given all the time he needs to size up a cross from the right. He finds Havertz on the penalty spot. Havertz steers a fine header towards the top right, the ball pinging off the top of the bar and out for a goal kick. So close to making life extremely difficult for Real Madrid!
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Chelsea get the second half underway, having been kept waiting awhile by their tardy guests. No changes by either side.
Half-time entertainment. Why not take a look back at PSG’s quite spectacular collective meltdown in Manchester in the other semi-final last night? The usual think-of-the-kids caveats apply, naturally, though of course we all enjoyed it very much.
HALF TIME: Chelsea 1-0 Real Madrid (agg 2-1)
There’s no added time, and so no time to take the corner. Both teams walk off with this tie still very much in the balance ... but it’s currently advantage Chelsea, who are 45 minutes away from an Istanbul meeting with Manchester City!
45 min: Havertz tears down the right at speed, Real light at the back. He’s got Werner and Chilwell free in the middle, but puts his head down, enters the box, and shoots himself. It’s deflected out for a corner, but that was a glorious opportunity to set up a team-mate for Chelsea’s second.
43 min: Mount dribbles in from the left and works a little bit of space for a shot. His effort is deflected into the air. Werner tries to scoop it further goalwards, but it’s an easy claim for Courtois. Chelsea are enjoying the run of this left flank.
41 min: Madrid, not for the first time this evening, make a meal of playing out from the back. Chelsea’s high press is causing them all sorts of bother.
39 min: Christensen goes in the book, as he should have done in the early exchanges, for a late clip on Ferland Mendy. A fair chance that this match won’t end with 22 players.
38 min: A slight sense that Real are getting agitated. There’s no need for them to panic yet, not least because, despite their defensive travails, they’re getting a few efforts on target, with Mendy having made a couple of big saves.
36 min: ... and now he goes into the book after tangling with Azpilicueta at a Real corner and hauling him to the ground. A pointless loss of noggin, that came seconds after Benzema forced Mendy into tipping over the bar with a flashed header from close range. Sandip Vyas’s mate (17 min) was only six minutes out.
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34 min: Ramos purchases a cheap foul from Havertz, and goes over in spectacular style, his leg stretching and boot connecting with the Chelsea player on the back. Not entirely sure there was any need for that, but it’s all priced into the Ramos Experience.
32 min: Rudiger wins a scrap in the centre circle and feeds Werner, who makes off down the left. Rudiger keeps going at warp speed, demanding the return pass. Werner tries to deliver it, but plays the ball behind his team-mate. Rudiger would have been clear in the box. Real are living on the edge here.
30 min: In some respects, that changes nothing for Real, who needed a goal tonight, and still need a goal. But if they score it, now they’d only force extra time. Another Chelsea goal, and they’d be in a whole world of bother.
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GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Real Madrid (Werner 28); agg 2-1
Kante one-twos in a tight spot with Werner, who spins and makes off down the middle. Kante slips the ball wide to Havertz, who enters the box down the left channel and draws Courtois, before chipping delicately over the keeper. Not quite delicate enough, because the ball pings off the crossbar, but Werner, having kept going, is on hand to meet the dropping ball and tap a header into the unguarded net!
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27 min: The corner is a waste of time. Chelsea sweep up the other end, and ...
26 min: So with grinding predictability, having just said that, Benzema nearly opens the scoring. Benzema picks up possession 25 yards out, and sends a powerful low curler towards the bottom right. It’s heading in, but Mendy extends himself to fingertip around the post. What a stunning shot ... and an even better save!
25 min: Chelsea will be happy enough with the way this has gone so far. Real Madrid haven’t come anywhere near to scoring the goal they need.
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23 min: Vinicius Junior sends a deep cross in from the right. At the far post, Benzema falls over, the slapstick result of a non-existent barge from Azpilicueta, who was standing behind him doing nothing. The referee doesn’t buy into the grift and tells him to get up.
22 min: Chilwell and Vinicius Junior fall out in the wake of a shoulder-to-shoulder challenge. The referee comes across to remind them that, while they’re both still young, they’re also fully grown men.
20 min: Werner will be annoyed at himself for that wholly avoidable offside. Irritating, but on the other hand, Chelsea now know this Real defence isn’t the strongest.
18 min: Werner slams the ball into the Madrid net, getting onto Chilwell’s low left-wing cross and roofing home from six yards. As simple as that. Too easy, it turns out, as the flag goes up, correctly, for offside. Werner was looking straight along the line, and had no need to go early. He admonishes himself accordingly.
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17 min: A bit of space for Modric in the middle of the Chelsea half. He strides towards the box and slightly scuffs his shot, which bobbles harmlessly towards Mendy. Meanwhile here’s some more disciplinary-related analysis, this time from Sandip Vyas: “One of these teams is going to lose men before the final whistle. And with Ramos being back on the pitch, me mate’s already whooping for him going in the book before the half hour mark.”
16 min: Werner and Chilwell are finding some joy down this left flank. They combine crisply, Werner then crossing low for Havertz, who barges into Militao. Free kick, but Chelsea are getting into this game now, after their slow start.
14 min: Chilwell takes the set piece himself, looping it long. Casemiro makes up for giving the free kick away by heading clear. As Real look to break upfield, Jorginho is booked for clipping Hazard. That punishment had been coming. “Even as a Chelsea fan, that might well have been three yellows and a possible red,” admits Julian Menz, of his team’s earlier spree.
13 min: ... and so Chelsea stay on the attack, Chilwell clipped by Casemiro out on the left. Chelsea load the box.
12 min: Now it’s Chelsea’s turn to have a dig from distance. Rudiger, of all people, tries his luck from the best part of 30 yards. It’s swerving all over the shop, and Courtois can only punch away.
11 min: The first shot in anger of the evening is taken by Kroos, who sends a speculative low drive towards the bottom left from distance. Mendy has it covered all the way.
10 min: Real go back to stroking it around. They’ve enjoyed the lion’s share of possession so far.
8 min: Werner turns on the jets and storms past Ramos down the left. Well, nearly. Ramos just about keeps up and brazenly shoves him off the ball, allowing Courtois to claim. Werner ends up draped over the advertising hoardings. That barge was just on the right side of legal. You’ve got to hand it to him. Sergio Ramos, everyone!
6 min: Now Havertz slides in on Nacho, who goes down screaming. There’s not so much in that one, but Chelsea need to watch themselves here. You sense that one more mistimed challenge by the hosts will result in the game’s first yellow.
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5 min: Christensen comes through the back of Hazard, then Kante steps across Kroos. Both of those challenges could have led to a booking, but the referee decides to keep his cards in his pocket for now. Christensen in particular can count himself very fortunate.
3 min: Chilwell dinks a pass down the left to release Werner. The flag goes up for offside and the whistle goes, though Werner looked just on. That’ll give Chelsea some early encouragement.
2 min: Real begin proceedings by stroking the ball around the back in a not particularly comfortable fashion. Eventually they hoick it upfield and let Chelsea have a go.
Real Madrid get the ball rolling. Chelsea are kicking towards the Shed End in this first half.
The teams are out! Chelsea in royal blue, Real in meringue white. A classic look. The rain has eased off, the tension has ramped up. We’ll soon find out who’ll face Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes, once pennants have been swapped, coins tossed, and Zadok the Priest mangled. It’s on!
Thomas Tuchel has also been speaking to BT. “I don’t think we need a miracle or any crazy stuff. We need our best level of performance. We have trust in ourselves, we arrive self-confident, the best way to arrive. We face a difficult team with a lot of quality and you need a little bit of luck, momentum, little decisions, little situations can decide matches like this. We want a performance on the highest level. I am pretty sure we will need more than 11 players to sneak through today, so it is good for us to have Christian Pulisic on the bench. The challenge is on!”
Chelsea have already got to one Champions League final this season, of course. The Blues will face Barcelona a week on Sunday in the Women’s Champions League final in Gothenburg, and manager Emma Hayes hope it’s a harbinger of things to come for the men. Speaking after her side beat Spurs 2-0 this evening, to inch ever closer to the WSL title, she told BT Sport: “I desperately hope we make it, and I don’t see why not, they played so well in the first leg, so I hope the boys do it tonight. This is this football club, this place is a dream to work at, winning is in the bones of everybody. It would be no surprise to me if they were to make it.”
Weather report. It wasn’t quite the raging storm of last night in Manchester, but there’s been hail in west London tonight as well. That’s since morphed into rain, and the forecast suggests things will dry out later. Whatever happens, we should have a nice greasy pitch for some fast knockabout fun.
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Welcome to Stamford Bridge. Fans have congregated outside the ground to wish the home heroes all the best as they arrive for work. They’re gonna make it a blue day, as one of the many Chelsea-approved ska musicians once sang.
Kai Havertz is rewarded for his two goals against Fulham at the weekend. He replaces the hero of the first leg, Christian Pulisic, who drops to the bench. That’s the only change to the starting XI from last week.
Real Madrid make three changes to the team sent out for the first leg. The aforementioned Sergio Ramos comes back to take the place of, and the captain’s armband from, Marcelo. One-time Chelsea star Eden Hazard and Ferland Mendy step in for injured pair Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane.
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The teams
Chelsea: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Azpilicueta, Kante, Jorginho, Chilwell, Mount, Werner, Havertz.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Abraham, Pulisic, Caballero, Zouma, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Gilmour, James, Emerson Palmieri.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Nacho, Eder Militao, Sergio Ramos, Mendy, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Hazard, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Asensio, Marcelo, Lunin, Valverde, Odriozola, Isco, Mariano, Rodrygo, Altube, Arribas, Blanco, Gutierrez.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy).
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The big news for Real Madrid ... as expected, Sergio Ramos is back.
📋✅ Our starting XI 🆚 @ChelseaFC!#UCL pic.twitter.com/0YaXclD4vD
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) May 5, 2021
Preamble
History suggests it will be Chelsea who play Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final on 29 May. Not the history that has Real Madrid winning 13 European Cups to Chelsea’s one; the history in which Real have played Chelsea four times, drawing two and losing two. The Blues, it would seem, have the grand old Spanish club’s number.
They drew with Real in the 1971 Cup Winners Cup final, then beat them in the replay, John Dempsey and Peter Osgood the goalscoring heroes. Gus Poyet decided the 1998 Super Cup final. And last Tuesday, Chelsea were the better team in a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano, Christian Pulisic becoming the first USA international to score in a Champions League semi. Thomas Tuchel’s side are in form and confident. The final is within their grasp.
Only problem is, Real are in decent nick themselves – they haven’t lost in any competition since late January – and they’re past masters at making it through to the final, having won four of their last five semis. Chelsea by contrast get a little more nervous at this stage of the competition; they’ve reached the semis on seven occasions, but have only made it through to the final twice. So perhaps history suggests it will be Real Madrid who play Manchester City in the 2021 Champions League final on 29 May.
All of which is a long-winded way of saying: this is perfectly poised. Will Thomas Tuchel make it back to the final, having taken PSG there last season? Or will it be another triumph for Zinedine Zidane, who will be hoping to contest (and win!) the biggest match in club football for a fourth time as a manager? We should have a blast finding out. It’s on!
Kick off: 8pm BST.
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