Tuesday night marked the first of two nights of the second leg of the quarter finals of the UEFA Champions’ League.
The Tuesday matches were: Chelsea v Real Madrid (1-3 aggregate) at the Bernabeu, and FC Bayern München v Villarreal (0-1 aggregate) at the Allianz Stadium.
FC Bayern München v Villarreal
Aggregate result going into the game: FC Bayern München 0-1 Villarreal
Bayern came into the game with a bit of a point to prove after losing to their Spanish opposition in the first leg last week. The first half made absolutely no alteration to the score line, but it didn’t take long into the second half for that to change.
Bayern captain Robert Lewandowski – who has been the talk of Barcelona transfer rumours over the last few days – scored for the German side less than 10 minutes into the second half. Cue a repeat of the 1999 Champions’ League final: Bayern fans certain their team had a chance of being the team that came out on top.
But then, just like it did 23 years ago, that all changed in the game’s dying minutes. Providing an upset for the Germans similar to the one handed to them that day at the Camp Nou by Teddy Sheringham and Ole Gunnar Solksjær was Samuel Chukwueze. The young Nigerian scored a goal in the 88th minute, which was enough to send them through to the semifinals.
But this game went a little under the radar. Understandable though really.
Final Aggregate Result: FC Bayern München 1-2 Villarreal
Chelsea v Real Madrid
Aggregate result going into the game: Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid
Bayern may have had a point to prove going into their game, but nowhere near as much as one as Chelsea did. After their 4-1 defeat to Brentford four days before the first leg of this tie, the London side hoped to improve and further improve their track record against the side that they beat in order to advance to last year’s final. However, this was not to be, and they ended up losing 3-1 at home, much to the displeasure of manager Thomas Tuchel. But after a weekend which saw them thrash Southampton 6-0, fans were slightly hopeful that they would be able to make a comeback.
It didn’t take long for the Blues to try and make this point, with young star Mason Mount scoring 15 minutes into the game (some even remarked that it was due to the ‘lucky’ haircut the England international debuted at the Southampton game, in which he scored two goals). Suddenly, Chelsea fans had a small glimmer of hope.
This hope continued in the second half when – six minutes into it – Antonio Rüdiger scored to make the sides level on aggregate. Marcos Alonso scored to make it three, but the goal was soon disallowed for an apparent handball. This initially upset the fans in the crowd, but they once again roared when Timo Werner scored in the 75th minute, giving Chelsea the lead on aggregate. They were 15 minutes away from completing what would have been one of the most sensational comebacks in the recent history of the Champions’ League.
But five minutes later, it all changed. Real Madrid sensation Luka Modric provided one of the most sensational assists of the tournament. Delivering the ball over the top of the Chelsea defence, he was able to find teammate Rodrygo, and a volley from the Brazilian made the two sides level once again, and with nobody else scoring in the last ten minutes of normal time (nor the four added), the game went to extra time. It was squeaky bum time for both sides if they wanted to avoid taking the game to penalties.
Six minutes in to the first half of extra time, Antonio Rüdiger slipped in the box. This would result in a goal for Karim Benzema, who had scored a hat trick for the most successful team in the tournament’s history six days earlier at Stamford Bridge. This put the hosts back in front.
Unfortunately, Chelsea couldn’t find an opportunity in the remaining time, and the reigning champions were eliminated from the tournament.
After the match, Tuchel spoke of not having any regrets, and said that they “were simply unlucky”.
Final Aggregate Result: Chelsea 4-5 Real Madrid
What happens next?
Night two sees the second leg of the games between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid, and Liverpool and Benfica. Going into the games, it is in the hands of the English sides both of whom won their first leg. City are 1-0 up on aggregate, while Liverpool are 3-1 up against Benfica going into their match at Anfield.
In their semifinal, Real Madrid will face whoever wins the Manchester City v Atletico Madrid tie, while Villarreal will face whoever emerges victorious from Liverpool v Benfica.
General opinion
This was a good night for football (not so much if you’re a Bayern or Chelsea fan though), and I only hope that tonight’s games can deliver as well as these did.
Rachel’s Sports Roundup 