Real Madrid Slay Chelsea In Stamford Bridge To Reach Semi-Finals

Chelsea’s Champions League campaign came to a disappointing end on Tuesday night as Real Madrid advanced into the semi-finals with a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Despite putting in a spirited performance, the Blues were unable to overturn the 2-0 deficit from the first leg in the Bernabeu.

Chelsea started the game brightly, but their lack of clinical finishing was evident from the outset. N’Golo Kante had a glorious opportunity to score in the first half, but his shot went wide of the post.

The home side continued to push forward, with Marc Cucurella coming close to scoring, only to be denied by former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

Real Madrid, who are known for their counter-attacking prowess, took advantage of Chelsea’s missed chances and punished them with a lightning-fast breakaway goal just before the hour mark.

Vinicius Junior led the charge, and his pass found Rodrygo, who slotted the ball past Edouard Mendy from close range.

Chelsea tried to fight back, but Real Madrid’s defence stood firm, and the Spanish champions sealed the win with a second goal ten minutes from time.

This time, Vinicius turned provider, playing a perfectly weighted pass to Federico Valverde, who unselfishly squared the ball to Rodrygo for an easy tap-in.

Carlo Ancelotti, who has won the Champions League four times as a coach, will now lead Real Madrid into the semi-finals against either Bayern Munich or Manchester City.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s interim manager, Frank Lampard, will be left to reflect on a disappointing season that has seen the club slip out of contention for the Premier League title and suffer early exits from both the FA Cup and the Champions League.

It is a far cry from last season when Lampard led Chelsea to the FA Cup final and secured a top-four finish in the Premier League in his first year in charge.

However, with four defeats in his last four games, the pressure is mounting on the former England international to turn things around quickly.

As for Real Madrid, they will be hoping to add to their record 13 Champions League titles with another triumph this season.