Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger praised the same Los Blancos duo while he was still at Chelsea last year to the one that put the Blues to the sword on Wednesday night. The two teams have met in the Champions League for the second season running, with Rudiger crossing the divide after completing a free transfer last summer.
Chelsea and Real Madrid contested a thrilling Champions League quarter-final battle in 2021/22. Buoyed by Karim Benzema’s hat-trick, the Spanish giants carried a commanding 3-1 lead into their home leg.
But the Blues threw the script out of the window by going three goals up at the Bernabeu. Rudiger himself got on the scoresheet, where he was joined by Mason Mount and Timo Werner, but Rodrygo scored a late goal to send the tie to extra-time.
The hero of Madrid’s victorious Champions League campaign then showed up again as Benzema found a winner, with Rudiger putting Chelsea’s defeat down to ‘individual class’ from the Frenchman and his talented team-mate, Luka Modric.
Benzema and Modric were back to their old tricks on Wednesday night as Chelsea and Real faced off in the quarters once again. The Croatian, now 37 years old, controlled the tempo in midfield and had the opposition chasing shadows for much of the game.
Meanwhile, Benzema proved as clinical as ever by turning in a rebound to give Los Blancos the lead. Rudiger’s warning last season meant that Chelsea were well aware of the high-class duo, but Frank Lampard’s out-of-form side were still powerless to stop them.
The Blues have now failed to score in four consecutive games, with Lampard overseeing two defeats to kick off his second managerial stint in west London. They are therefore up against it ahead of next week’s second leg, when they will need to score at least three goals to avoid the tie going to penalties.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly left himself exposed before the match, predicting that the Premier League giants would leave the Spanish capital with a 3-0 victory. With the Blues still searching for something to lift them out of a dismal spell, Lampard attempted to rally his troops with 90 more minutes still to play.
“It’s a big challenge against a team with the quality of Real Madrid, but the door is open; it is up to us whether we want to kick it open further next week,” said the former England midfielder.
“We have mixed emotions about tonight’s game. With 11 [men] we were in it and had some chances. I definitely think we can utilise our strengths better. There are things to work on and I can see opportunities there from tonight. We have to believe it is possible: a percentage of the game is mindset, a belief.”
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