As it relates to football fandom, I’m a bit of a late bloomer. My entire origin story is documented in The Pride of London’s 10,000th article, but long story short, I didn’t begin to follow football until the 2015/16 season. After witnessing how happy Chelsea lifting the 2014/15 Premier League title made some of my loved ones, I was instantly hooked. My first campaign as a supporter was a rocky one, as many of you will recall. However, the Blues have also climbed the highest mountains during my time as a fan. It’s been a wonderful journey thus far and I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
My two proudest moments as a Chelsea supporter to date came when the team lifted the Premier League trophy in 2016/17 under Antonio Conte and when it reached the pinnacle of European football last May. Those are some incredibly special memories that top my list as a fan. That was until Tuesday evening. The Blues travelled to one of football’s most historic grounds, to square off against the world’s biggest team, facing a near insurmountable deficit. While they may not have won the tie in the end, the performance put on by Chelsea should make every fan proud.
Chelsea fans should be incredibly proud of their team’s showing in Madrid
It would’ve been so easy for the Blues to simply roll over and accept defeat after a horrid first leg. We’ve witnessed countless teams do just that in years past, especially when squaring off against the most successful club in the competition’s rich history. Manager Thomas Tuchel claimed that the tie was over following the defeat at home last week, who can blame him? Chelsea looked flat in the first leg, there was little to suggest there would be any comeback in the Spanish capital.
However, it was evident from the opening whistle that the German gaffer was not going to roll over and allow Carlo Ancelotti’s side to walk all over his men. Tuchel put on a tactical masterclass at the Santiago Bernabeu in what is undoubtedly one of the most effective gameplans from a Chelsea manger since the days of Jose Mourinho. He took risks in his starting XI and threw the kitchen sink at going forward in order to claw back in the tie. The Blues’ tactics were spot on from top to bottom, but so were the individuals carrying out the instructions.
Mason Mount opened the scoring on the evening and although he suppressed his celebration in order to get play restarted quickly, it was evident what the goal meant to him. The same goes for Antonio Rudiger, Marcos Alonso (even though his goal was wrongly disallowed) and Timo Werner. Every individual associated with the club was reduced to nothing more than a mere fan in those moments as football’s true beauty was personified on the pitch due to the circumstances.
There were, of course, feelings of disappointment after the full-time whistle when the Blues’ European campaign officially came to an end. There were heads in hands, motionless players lying across the pitch and waves of emotions overcoming everyone in the yellow Chelsea away kits. Everyone involved on Tuesday night gave it their all. They put their best foot forward, dared football fans to dream and wore their hearts on their sleeves for 120 minutes. There is nothing more a fan can ask for in this instance. The players and coaches left it all on the field.
The heartbreaking reality of sport is that sometimes a team’s best isn’t enough. The Blues did not have enough left in the tank to find the back of the net one final time the extra period to force a decisive penalty shootout. That’s OK, they emptied their tanks for 90+ minutes in order to get to that point. Chelsea made its fans proud on Tuesday night. Although there is reason for players to want to hang their heads in defeat, supporters should not allow that to happen as there is nothing that they should be ashamed about at the end of the day.
The second leg in Madrid reminded us all why we love Chelsea so much. Don’t worry, we’ll be back next year, and until then, we’ve got more trophies to win. The team’s focus now shifts to making its fifth FA Cup final in six years—Crystal Palace awaits on Sunday. Come on you Blues!
What did you make of Tuesday’s match? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!