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Aveek Chaudhuri, April 28, 2021

A Champions League final berth may actually be a reality for Chelsea after their 1-1 with Real Madrid on Tuesday for the first leg of the semi-finals. At the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium, Chelsea were able to get a goal in 14’ minutes courtesy of Christian Pulisic before Karim Benzema equalized with a banger in the 29’ minute. But Pulisic’s goal was enough to give Chelsea the advantage going into the game at Stamford Bridge due to Chelsea getting the away goal.

Although the game ended with one goal per team, it was Chelsea that was the better team on the day. They attempted a total of 11 shots with a solid 5 on target. In comparison, Real Madrid had 9 total shots with a mere 1 on target which of course they converted. Although both teams had almost equal possession, it was Chelsea who made the most with their opportunities.

Chelsea started the game very strong. They consistently pressed Zinedine Zidane’s men and made good, precise plays to get past Madrid’s defense. The Blues’ first real chance came immediately in the 10’ minute, when Timo Wener had an opportunity to score from only 6 yards out from Thibaut Courtois. But Werner had his shot saved brilliantly by Courtois. Although he should have converted then, Chelsea’s goal came shortly as 3 minutes later, a wonderful long ball by Antonio Rudiger found Christian Pulisic who dribbled past the keeper and calmly slotted the ball into the back of the net through 2 defenders.

However, Madrid soon came back into the game. As they got into the game, they started creating more chances. Their first major chance came in the 23’ minute when Benzema found space 25 yards out from Édouard Mendy and tried his luck with a brilliant shot. The shot beat Mendy but luckily for the Chelsea keeper, hit the right post and went wide. But Benzema got a second chance in the 29’ minute after a series of headers in the box which found Benzema who calmly powered the ball into the back of the net to equalize.

The game then pretty much died out in the second half with neither team doing much. However, looking back, Thomas Tuchel and Chelsea will definitely feel that they could have won today’s game and taken a very strong advantage into the next game. Although Zidane’s men played defensively today, Chelsea was still creating big opportunities for themselves and could have ended the game with at least 2 goals.

Thus, Tuchel will be looking to continue this momentum into the second leg at Stamford Bridge. If Chelsea keep this form up, they can definitely find themselves with a ticket to the Champions League final for the first time since 2012, back when they won the competition.