Chelsea makes Champions League history with win over Real Madrid

Chelsea has done the improbable. When the final whistle echoed through Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night, the Blues officially booked their place in the Champions League final. Thomas Tuchel’s men dominated Real Madrid in the second leg to bring the aggregate score to 3-1 in the semifinal. Manchester City now awaits in the second all-English final in three years. However, that’s still almost a month away. For now, we look back and celebrate the accomplishments of Chelsea’s historic season thus far.

The Blues’ 2-0 victory over the Spanish giants meant more than just a ticket punched. The first team’s triumph saw Chelsea Football Club achieve something no other club in the history of European football has ever done. The Blues will be playing for Champions League trophies in both the men’s and women’s finals. The runs of each team are ones for the history books and although they’ve reached the pinnacle of their respective tournaments, they’ve taken different paths to get there.

The men reached the final by dominating their opponents defensively. Chelsea has lost just one of its games in this year’s tournament—a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Porto—and allowed just four goals in Europe. Frank Lampard helped the Blues qualify and managed them all the way to the knockout stages, but it’s Tuchel who has steered the ship since the Round of 16. The men have defied the odds and slain some of Europe’s biggest clubs. From Sevilla, Rennes and Krasnodar in the group stages to Atletico Madrid, Porto and Real Madrid in the knockout rounds, the Blues have continued to steamroll opponents with their stubborn defense.

On the other side of things, Emma Hayes has guided the Chelsea Women to their first Champions League final in their storied history. Hayes, who has managed the club since 2012, has always maintained that the UWCL title was her goal. Now on the verge of successive FAWSL titles, the Blues’ hopes for an unprecedented quadruple are still alive. They overturned a 2-1 deficit in the first leg of the semifinals with a 4-1 win at Kingsmeadow over Bayern Munich. Whereas the men have gotten to this point with their lockdown defense, the women’s attacking unit is out of this world. Fran Kirby, Sam Kerr, Pernille Harder and Co. simply cannot be stopped, as they showed against the Bavarians.

These teams have both worked for years to get to where they are right now. They have been knocked down and counted out more times than anyone can remember, but they’ve always gotten back up. Chelsea now has two teams of destiny to its name and they’re coming for both of the Champions League crowns. The men’s final will take place on May 29 in Istanbul. The Blues will square off against fellow Premier League foes, Manchester City. The women’s final will be held on May 16 in Gothenburg, where Chelsea will take on Barcelona.

What’re your predictions for each Champions League final? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!