Chelsea will have it all to do in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid next week after losing 2-0 at the Bernabeu. Express Sport takes a look at five things learned from the European tie.
Costly Granovskaia mistake
It’s been five years since Thibaut Courtois left Chelsea for Real Madrid and, apart from the Champions League success back in 2021, the club have never been the same. Kepa Arrizibalaga may be back in the frame currently, but he’s never lived up to expectations at Stamford Bridge.
Courtois was the man of the match for Real Madrid in last year’s Champions League final and he was the Spanish side’s hero once again on Wednesday night. Raheem Sterling looked destined to score in the first half when he tapped an effort towards the front post, only for Courtois to acrobatically get down low and push it wide.
It’s the kind of save that puts Courtois in the upper echelons of Europe’s elite goalkeepers and having him between the sticks has made Real the powerhouse that they currently are.
Chilwell punished
Ben Chilwell may have argued at the time that he had no choice with Rodrygo bearing down on goal, and if Chelsea held on to the 1-0 deficit then it would have been a job well done. But Chelsea were always going to be exposed and they had a long period to try and hold off a rampant Real.
And they made that extra man count from the corner that led to their second with Chelsea not switched on to deal with it. If this Chelsea side were scoring goals for fun then they would still feel somewhat confident about turning things around at Stamford Bridge, but that’s not the case currently with Real now having more than one foot into the semi finals.
Enzo Fernandez finding his feet
It was an eyebrow-raising fee for a player not on anybody’s radar just last summer, but Fernandez is starting to show his true capabilities. The midfielder was a class above the rest in Chelsea’s draw against Liverpool at the weekend and continually found pockets of space against Real.
The only issue for Fernandez has been a lack of movement ahead of him, unlike he had with Argentina at the World Cup. But there’s no doubting Fernandez’s class and he looks to be finding his feet in a Chelsea shirt.
Koulibaly injury blow
It’s typical of Chelsea’s season that just as Thiago Silva makes his return that Kalidou Koulibaly picks up a knock of his own. Chelsea are a far better defensive unit when Silva and Koulibaly start together and they were frustrating Karim Benzema before the latter went off.
But Chelsea immediately looked vulnerable at the back when Koulibaly went off and his presence was dearly missed for Real’s second.
Experimentation now
Chelsea won’t accept the tie is over, but it’s about damage limitations now for the Blues going into the second leg. If Frank Lampard harbours any hopes of proving himself worthy as a candidate to take the Chelsea job on a permanent basis then he’ll have to take some risks in the final few games of the season.
It hasn’t worked with the current formula going forward and major changes are needed to try and get things going again. The season is a write-off, but for Lampard it’s still an audition for his dream job.
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