Real Madrid 2-3 Chelsea: Three talking points after UCL thriller
2. Costly errors
They say it’s the hope that kills you, but that couldn’t have been further from the truth in this tie. The hope is what kept the dream alive for 120 minutes in one of the most exhilarating cup ties in recent memory. There were many people that claimed the Blues were the better side through two legs after the conclusion of Tuesday’s thriller. While that may be true, Chelsea was better for a majority of the time, Real Madrid was able to capitalize when it mattered most. Los Blancos’ ability to make the Blues pay for every little mistake eventually earned them the victory in the tie. Simply put, Chelsea made too many errors to claim it was deserving of a victory.
Tuchel’s time in west London has seen the Blues blossom into one of the world’s best defensive teams. It was the superb performances from the back line that saw them lift the Champions League trophy for a second time in their history. Yet, when it came time to take on one of the most experienced and stubborn opponents in this year’s competition, Chelsea’s defense folded with little resistance. It was hit for three goals at Stamford Bridge in the first leg, which is almost unheard of under the German’s guidance. The attack was nothing to write home about either.
The second leg was much better defensively, but this time, there were missed opportunities at the other end. The Blues registered 29 shots on the evening, an impressive tally for any match, let alone a game against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu. Only seven of those 29 shots found the target though as the team wasted chance after chance. This didn’t seem to be a huge issue once Chelsea took a 3-0 lead, but Los Blancos came clawing back in extra time and that was all she wrote. The Blues were gassed after putting on a relentless press and going all out in attack for 100+ minutes. They were left to rue the opportunities that they failed to put away earlier in the match.
The forwards weren’t solely to blame though. Both Real Madrid goals started as careless giveaways in the middle of the park. Sure, there was some brilliance from Luka Modric and Vinicius Jr. sprinkled in there, but Chelsea gave the ball away carelessly on two instances. The experienced players in the home squad made the Blues pay for their mistakes. In the end, it’s pointless to harp on this team for its errors in the tie. These aren’t commonplace under Tuchel, they were just a series of unfortunate errors that came against the Ballon d’Or elect and his band of world class teammates. It’s not a stretch to claim the Blues were the better of the two teams across two legs, it just must be said that Real Madrid was more clinical and disciplined.