Goals by Timo Werner and Mason Mount sent Chelsea into the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester City as they outclassed Real Madrid 2-0 for a 3-1 aggregate win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Werner opened the scoring for the Blues with the easiest header into an empty net in the 28th minute before Mason Mount ensured there was no comeback from Los Blancos by netting the home team’s 2nd 5 minutes from time.
Chelsea will now face Manchester City in the Champions League final in Istanbul on 29th May after convincingly beating what is possibly, Real Madrid’s weakest team in the last decade.
Thomas Tuchel has now secured Chelsea’s place in two finals since taking over from Frank Lampard. They can end up with a double by winning the FA Cup and the Champions League, which would be incredible but what Russian owner Roman Abramovich would have expected after he broke the bank to help Chelsea acquire goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, defender Ben Chilwell, German attackers Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, as well as Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech from Ajax.
Chelsea spent a whopping 200 million pounds on transfers but it seems to have paid off as they sit in 4th in the Premier League and are two knockout wins away from winning an unprecedented ‘Double’.
Standing in their way are Premier League leaders, Manchester City who can win three trophies themselves this year with them needing just 3 points in 4 games to secure the English league crown and already having won the Carabao Cup for a fourth consecutive time.
Chelsea will certainly believe that they can win the Champions League title against Pep Guardiola’s side as they beat them in the FA Cup semifinals as well, not so long ago.
Timo Werner heads home into an empty net against Real Madrid. (Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty Images)
The Blues have to face a tough Leicester City in the FA Cup final at Wembley as well. Kelechi Iheanacho has been in scintillating form and may cause problems for a Chelsea backline that has been resolute since the arrival of Senegal keeper Edouard Mendy in goal.
Chelsea’s victory over Real Madrid means that there will be an all-English final once again, just 2 years after the last time it occurred when Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the 2019 final.
Before that, it was way back in 2008 when the Blues lost to Manchester United on penalties.
We could also be seeing a potential all-English final in Europe’s second competition – the UEFA Europa League – with Manchester United all but through to the final and Arsenal going up against Villarreal in an all-to-play-for second leg on Thursday night.
Chelsea will go into the Champions League final as underdogs given City’s current form, but will fancy their chances on the counter given their defensive prowess in recent times.
Karim Benzema and Real Madrid were completely shut down by Chelsea (Photo by Antonio Villalba/Real Madrid via Getty Images)
“We deserved to win. The first half was difficult, they had a lot of possession and made us suffer,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said.
“In the second half 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. It is not done yet, we want to go all the way, we arrive in Istanbul to win.”
“Real Madrid are always dangerous, they can turn nothing into goals. So, to hang in there, even when you have chances and miss them, they never lost concentration, focus, and a positive energy on the pitch. This was a huge performance.
“I’m very happy we’ve achieved this. I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to live my life in football and this passion as a profession. So grateful to do it on this level and to get to another final, I’m very grateful for that.”
Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane spoke to Movistar: “They deserved the win. We fought and tried but they deserved to win and go through.
“The players who have played were fit to play. I’m proud of my boys: we tried, we have got this far – just one game from the final. Chelsea played a great match and have gone through and we have to say well done to them.
“We needed to be better going forward. We didn’t have any clear chances, they made a number of them and that’s football. Now we rest and think of La Liga.
“Of course we’re not happy. When you lose a semi-final you can’t be happy and that’s normal. It’s tough to take, but tomorrow we’ll be back out on the training pitch ready to go again.”
