(Football news) Real Madrid defeated Chelsea 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final clash. A first half goal by Karim Benzema put the hosts ahead in the 21st minute against a timid Chelsea side who were reduced to 10 men when Ben Chilwell saw a red card for pulling Rodrigo back outside the area. This meant interim manager Lampard had to change his tactics to damage limitation but Marco Asensio doubled Real Madrid’s advantage with a low strike that went past Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Chelsea were denied a goal attempt when Antonio Rudiger blocked Mason Mount’s attempt and the Blues now have a lot of work to do to keep their Champions League hopes alive. Chelsea have to score at least twice, something they have managed to do only four times in the last 22 fixtures. The Blues have now failed to score in four consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since December 1993. The winners of this fixture will face either Manchester City or Bayern Munich in the semi-final.
Speaking after the match, Chelsea interim manager Frank Lampard said “We’re realistic, we’re 2-0 down against Real Madrid but that’s done now. I’ve been involved with games that change. We’re in a different place now where we want to prove some things wrong, to change the tone, to change the story. We went with 10 men against Real Madrid and it was a disappointing night for the lads but I also saw they gave everything. It will be different next week, we weren’t favourites yesterday, we aren’t favourites today. That’s football. The possibilities are ours if we take them.”
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said “Don’t forget that Chelsea has a good team and good players. We won 2-0 and we took advantage of this game. It’s not done yet. We have to fight and sacrifice at Stamford Bridge. This is absolutely normal. It’s the quarter-final of the Champions League. We are satisfied with the game. It was a good game and now we focus on the next one.
“When they played with 10 men, they put a low block and it was not easy to find a solution. We spent a lot of energy in the game to try to press high, so at the end we were not so fresh to try to be able to find solutions. I think the result was good and also the performance. My players understand there is another 90 minutes to play. It will be difficult and we have to be ready.”
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