Chelsea secured their third Champions League final appearance as they edged past Real Madrid to set up an all-English final with Manchester City at Istanbul’s Ataturk Stadium on May 29th. Possessing a slender advantage thanks to an away goal in the first leg, a clean sheet would ensure a safe passage for the London side, but it was clear from the start they were in no mood to sit back.
Ben Chilwell’s early burst saw the England left-back deliver a brilliant cross to Timo Werner, but the German forward had strayed offside, and his close finish was ruled out. Moments later, Werner would redeem himself.
Following some good work from Kai Havertz, the German’s cute chip rebounded off the crossbar, and Werner made no mistake as Chelsea took a deserved lead shortly before the half-hour mark. Madrid briefly threatened courtesy of a header from Karim Benzema that was tipped to safety by Edouard Mendy, but Chelsea were great value for their lead at the break.
In the second half, Chelsea almost doubled their lead as Havertz’ well-guided header just missed the target as it crashed off the woodwork. Havertz would be missing another chance later in the half, and Chelsea kept giving Madrid hope as they missed a series of easy opportunities.
With five minutes to go, Mason Mount eased Chelsea nerves as his clever finish following great work from Christian Pulisic gave Madrid a mountain to climb. The Spanish side were outplayed from the first minute, and Chelsea will be aiming to ruin Manchester City’s European dreams when the English clubs head to Turkey later this month.
For a full recap of tonight’s key moments from Chelsea’s dominant win over Real Madrid, please see below.