Chelsea was comprehensively beaten at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinal tie. The game went the way many expected it to go, but there were people who were surprised by just how poor the Blues were. Frank Lampard’s plan was definitely to contain Carlo Ancelotti’s men for as long as possible while trying to create chances when opportunities arose. Here are three positives and three negatives from the much anticipated UCL tie.
Chelsea positives
The starting lineup
The starting eleven Lampard put out was very strong. This is because the Blues had many key players back from injury including N’Golo Kante and Thiago Silva. These players weren’t that influential in the game, though Silva made something that can be classified as a goal-line clearance. It was the strongest lineup the interim Blues’ boss had available to him. The 2021 European Champions had the best chance of winning the game they could possibly hope for with Reece James, N’Golo Kante, Thiago Silva, Ben Chilwell, Wesley Fofana, and Enzo Fernandez in them. There were other superb players in the lineup as well. No one can accuse anyone of not giving Real Madrid the respect they deserve.
It only ended 2-0
The men in white had their way with their opponents all game. They took 18 shots, 10 of them being on target. The game ended with Los Blancos accumulating 2.29 expected goals (xG). Vinicius Jr, Karim Benzema, Toni Kroos, and Luka Modric were key players in ensuring that Lampard’s men were under pressure at every point in the game. The 2-0 scoreline is a good thing because the task at Stamford Bridge, while still very difficult, doesn’t seem insurmountable, and that will affect the way the players approach the game.
Enzo Fernandez
Fernandez was good overall, though he didn’t offer much defensively. The whole midfield did nothing to help control the game, but Fernandez did very well for ball progression. The Argentine completed 13/16 long balls and made 18 passes into the final third, more than Kroos’s 17. He also created two chances and won the most fouls of anyone on the pitch (4). In a game where the majority of the Chelsea players were ineffective, the former Benfica midfielder stood out for all the right reasons.
Negatives
Real Madrid found the game easy
Many viewers of the match got the impression that the European Champions never left second gear. There is merit in that perception. Madrid found it easy to win the ball back the few times they lost it. The Spanish giants controlled every phase of play. To say that Chelsea lost the midfield battle would be an understatement as there was no midfield battle. In a way, the fact that Kroos, the best passer of the ball in the last 10 years, did not need to attempt any long ball in that game, and still made 17 passes into the final third from central midfield, is testament to how effortlessly Ancelotti’s men controlled the midfield, and subsequently the game. They missed three of the four big chances they created and still scored two goals.
Chelsea allowed many good chances
It wasn’t a good defensive performance from the English giants: they allowed 18 shots, 10 shots on target and conceded four big opportunities to the opponents. CFC also let nine shots come in from inside the box. Arrizabalaga had to make eight saves and still conceded two goals and could have conceded more.
Luka Modric’s shot that scraped the top of the net early in the second half could have easily been a goal and Arrizabalaga was nowhere near it. The Blues would need to find a way to limit these shots in the second leg if they’re going to have a chance to get to the semi-final of the UEFA Champions league.
Unavailable players for the second leg
The elephant in the room is the red card Ben Chilwell received in the 59th minute for a lazy last man foul on Rodrygo, which leaves Lampard’s men without one of their key players in the most important game of their season yet. Chilwell’s red card challenge was lazy when you also consider that Dani Carvajal found himself in a similar situation early on in the game with Joao Felix, and he was able to put enough pressure on him to force the Portuguese to shoot earlier than he would have liked. It should be noted that Rodrygo was going to be in a much better shooting position than Felix was.
Kalidou Koulibaly also went down injured, an injury that would be considered a particularly big miss considering that Benoit Badiashile is not registered for the Champions League. The London side’s chances of winning the second leg of this tie is significantly reduced without Koulibaly and Chilwell in the lineup.