Real Madrid’s pursuit of a fifteenth European Cup marches on. Chelsea, in the meantime, doesn’t know when it would compete on this elite stage once more. Madrid’s 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday accomplished a 4-0 combination victory and noticed the Spanish giants advance to the Champions League semifinals for the eleventh time in 13 seasons.
Rodrygo scored twice within the second half to derail a spirited Chelsea comeback that lasted one of the best a part of an hour, however finally resulted in a fourth straight loss below interim supervisor Frank Lampard. Madrid can proceed its quest for extra glory in a contest it has received a file 14 occasions, with both Manchester City or Bayern Munich to come back within the subsequent spherical.
WATCH Rodrygo have fun in Cristiano Ronaldo model after scoring in opposition to Chelsea…
RODRYGO HIT THE SIUUUU AT STAMFORD BRIDGE ___ pic.twitter.com/pWNqp1IYyh
— LiveScore (@livescore) April 18, 2023
“We are ready to be there and we are ready to fight for the final,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti mentioned.
City was main Bayern 3-0 after the primary leg of the quarterfinals, establishing a probable rematch of final 12 months’s semifinals. Madrid scored twice in added time and one other in additional time on the Bernabeu final season to win 6-5 on combination. Madrid is already the one group to efficiently defend the Champions League in its fashionable guise – profitable it three consecutive occasions from 2016-18 – and remains to be in rivalry to win it back-to-back once more.
It is a file that no different group can compete with – and with a ahead line of Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema and Rodrygo in such daunting kind, the defending champions will take some stopping.
Chelsea’s depressing marketing campaign, nonetheless, is now destined to finish with no trophy. Defeat left Lampard fielding questions on the place the 2021 European champion goes after its troubled begin to life below new homeowners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital.
“People will make a lot about this season for Chelsea because we’ve had so much success,” Lampard mentioned. “The reality is this club is going to be back, but it will take work.”
Chelsea sits eleventh within the Premier League and 17 factors off the highest 4 regardless of spending round $630 million on new signings. A membership that received the Champions League twice below former proprietor Roman Abramovich now seems sure to overlook out on the competitors subsequent season.
With the battle for the highest 4 growing in depth within the mild of a resurgent Arsenal, an bettering Manchester United and a Saudi-backed Newcastle, Chelsea’s route again to European membership soccer’s elite competitors might not be straight ahead. “In this moment to try to predict what happens going forward, will it be good, will it be bad, I think is pretty pointless,” Lampard mentioned. “But I do think we can set the building blocks now of where we want to get to.”
Chelsea’s slide has been sudden. Just two years in the past, the London membership received the Champions League for a second time in its historical past, below supervisor Thomas Tuchel.
The German supervisor, who was vastly standard amongst followers, was fired earlier within the season and changed by Graham Potter, who suffered the identical destiny at first of this month. Lampard’s arrival has not prompted an upturn in kind, along with his group scoring simply as soon as in its 4 losses since his appointment.
That lack of leading edge was evident once more within the quarterfinals second leg in opposition to Madrid as Chelsea missed a number of possibilities. N’Golo Kante did not convert clear openings in every half with the rating nonetheless 0-0. And former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois beat away a close-range effort from Marc Cucurella simply earlier than the break.
The dwelling group was made to pay for these misses as Madrid struck twice on the break. Ancelotti admitted his group “suffered a lot” earlier than Rodrygo’s targets.
The Brazil ahead opened the scoring within the 58th minute when delivering Vinicius’ cutback. He added a second within the eightieth, this time after Federico Valverde’s help. He may need had a hat trick if not for a first-half effort hitting the skin of the submit.
The dwelling followers headed for the exits in numbers as soon as Rodrygo’s second aim crossed the road. But those that remained applauded on the finish after being given some trigger for encouragement as Chelsea pushed Madrid for a big a part of the match.
