The Five Big Talking Points As Toothless Chelsea Crash Out of Champions League

The Five Big Talking Points As Toothless Chelsea Crash Out of Champions League

Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
updated at April 19, 2023 at 7:20 AM
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  • Real Madrid punched their ticket to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League after edging out Chelsea across two legs
  • A double from Rodrygo at Stamford Bridge added to the first-leg result to help Los Blancos reach the last four on a 4-0 aggregate
  • Sports Brief breaks down the outcome of the tie across the two legs and looks at the major talking points from the UCL matches

Chelsea were beaten 2-0 by Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge as poor finishing cost them any chance of turning the quarter-final first-leg result around.

A brace from Brazilian sensation, Rodrygo de Goes dumped the West Londoners out of the Champions League, compounding what has been a catastrophic campaign, to say the least.

Chelsea, Real Madrid, Frank Lampard, Champions League
Chelsea's Champions League run came to a crashing halt against Real Madrid. Photo credit: @brfootball
Source: Twitter

Here are the five takeaways following Chelsea's exit and Real Madrid's qualification to the last four of Europe's elite club competition:

1. Chelsea pay for their wastefulness

The Blues started brightly, playing enterprising football, but rued two huge missed chances in the first half that could have altered the destiny of the tie.

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Real Madrid made Chelsea pay for their profligacy when Rodrygo scored in the 58th minute and then doubled his tally with 10 minutes to go, GOAL reports.

Wednesday night's result means the Londoners' woes in front of the goal continue unabated, scoring just once in four games under Frank Lampard.

2. Lampard's desperate substitutions too late

The iconic Blues midfielder, who is in his second spell as Chelsea manager, made a number of attacking substitutions in a bid to salvage the tie.

He threw on Raheem Sterling, Joao Felix, and Mykhailo Mudryk in a desperate attempt to get back into the match.

But it proved to be a case of much ado about nothing as Carlo Ancelotti's charges kept their composure to score a second and end the game as a contest.

3. Rodrygo puts two past Chelsea

Fresh from delivering a masterclass performance over the weekend, the Brazilian attacker was hand to guide Los Blancos to the last four of Europe's elite club competition, per Supersport.

He did the damage for Madrid, finishing off a slick break that he initiated before the hour, and even had enough time to hit Ronaldo's iconic 'Siuuu' celebration after breaking the deadlock.

Rodrygo turned the screws with 10 minutes to play, sweeping home after Fede Valverde had sliced through Chelsea’s backline with some sublime skill and pulled across the empty net.

4. Courtois relishes moment against Chelsea

Thibaut Courtois relished the moment of crossing paths with his former employers for the third consecutive season.

He pulled off some brilliant stops to keep Chelsea at bay while playing the role of the pantomime villain against the Blues yet again.

The 30-year-old shot-stopper was spotted kissing the Real Madrid badge after denying Marc Cucurella from close range, after he was taunted by the Chelsea fans behind his goalpost.

He left the Blues on bad terms and has not been liked by supporters of the West London club since.

5. Aubameyang, striker sorely missed

In simple terms, the decision not to add Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the Champions League knockout phase list has come back to haunt the Blues.

Several crosses were put in Madrid's box. However, there was no focal attacking presence in the form of a striker to put the ball behind the net.

That is not to say Aubameyang would have single-handedly solved Chelsea's bewildering goal-scoring crisis, but his presence up front could have at least served as a decoy for the other attackers to feed on.

Chelsea fans blast club co-owner

Sports Brief also reported on Blues fans slamming co-owner of the club, Todd Boehly after Chelsea's loss to Real Madrid in the first leg.

The American predicted the Londoners would win the tie at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium with a 3-0 scoreline, which was wildly off.

Authors
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe photo
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe
Godwin Nii Armah Tagoe is a Ligue 1, Bundesliga, and La Liga editor with five-year experience. He previously worked with Sports Corna and 360SportsGH.
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