Real Madrid and Villarreal to the semifinals of the Champions League
This Tuesday the Spanish teams qualified for the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League by beating Chelsea and Bayern respectively. The two matches took place at 3:00 pm (Venezuela time) and in one of them, Real Madrid faced the current champion of the European competition at the Santiago Bernabéu in the second leg of the quarterfinals.
Ancelotti came out with his usual 4-3-3 where the novelty in defense was Nacho for Militao who did not play due to an accumulation of yellow cards and Valverde who played in the offensive trident along with Benzema and Vinicius. For his part, Tuchel corrected the mistake he had made, placing James for Christensen, Kovacic for Jorginho and Werner as striker.
It was a game where Chelsea dominated in practically 80 minutes. The 'Blues' cut off White's initiatives, generated multiple scoring chances and knew how to take advantage of almost everything. They shot 28 times, where 7 went on goal, while the Whites only shot 10 times and 4 times on goal. The visitors took 10 corner kicks and Madrid one.
From the first minutes the English team tried to impose their game, but the home side tried to create some dangerous chances for Mendy. At minute 9 there was a foul near the area that Benzema charged, but it went slightly high off the crossbar.
However, at minute 15 Tuchel's men would open the scoring after a triangulation at the edge of the area that fell to Mount and entering the area he took out a powerful shot from the right that ended up getting into the right corner. 0-1 partial.
It should be noted that in the first leg, held at Stamford Bridge, Real Madrid won with a Benzema hat-trick and a final score of 1-3. For now, Chelsea began by scoring in the first few minutes, achieving one of its main objectives and dislodging a white team that had to maintain the advantage.
At minute 31, the 'merengue' team tried it through a joint play. Modric arrived from the edge of the area and gave a pass to Benzema and he placed it for him to take the shot, but Casemiro arrived and hit him wide. At 35', Rüdiger took a shot from mid-range that ended up going just wide.
Not many more chances would pass in the remainder of the first half. In this way they would go to the break with a Chelsea that was fully complying with the path outlined by its coach and that was one goal away from tying the tie.
Starting the second half, Tuchel's men continued to dominate the game and in the 50th minute there was a corner that Rüdiger finished off with an unmarked header and thus sent it across the net. 0-2 and tied the aggregate at the moment. The Bernabéu fell silent after the goal and there were 40 minutes remaining in regulation time.
Madrid seemed not to react, but at 55' there was a foul near the area that Kross took well and the ball was deflected by Mendy. At 61, the Whites had another chance and this time through Valverde, who finished off powerfully, but narrowly left the cross.
However, at 62' Chelsea would score again after a ball that Mendy lost in midfield. The counterattack was directed by Kanté, who, dragging the mark through the center of the edge of the area, passed it to Marcos Alonso and he dribbled past Dani Carvajal and shot from the right to place it in the far corner.
But the referee would review the VAR and annul the goal because in the play, Alonso touches the ball with his hand and the action is invalidated. The home team cheered after the opportunity the match gave them and reached Mendy's goal and this time with a cross into the area that Benzema headed and hit the crossbar and came off in the 65th minute.
At 72' Ancelotti decides to change Kross for Camavinga. The German, apparently, does not like the substitution and goes to the bench angrily, but at minute 75 the 'Blues' would score the third through Werner, after a play where the meringues lost the ball and the German entered the area, dribbles past Casemiro and finishes off to make it 0-3.
Chelsea had completed the comeback at the Bernabéu and there was little time left for the home team. Tuchel's men continued to attack and at 78', Havertz shot 'burn clothes', but this time Courtois managed to stop the ball.
However, at 77' Mendy and Casemiro had left for Marcelo and Rodrygo to come on. The young Brazilian would be decisive, since at 79', Modric led a counter against the Whites and took a cross from the left with the outside of his foot and it fell to Rodrygo, who was unmarked at the far post and finished first to place the partial 1-3.
With that action the tie was tied and hopes grew at the Bernabéu. At minute 81, Modric once again had an opportunity and ended up taking a shot from the edge of the area, but goalkeeper Mendy saved in two counts.
At 82', Tuchel took out Werner and brought in Pulisic, while at 87', Ancelotti took out Nacho due to discomfort, so that Lucas Vázquez could enter. The '17' of Madrid is placed on the right side while Carvajal moves to the position of Nacho.
Madrid would try to resist and at 90+3' would warn Chelsea again through Pulisic, who finished off and left slightly high. In this way, regulation time would end and the game would go into overtime. 30 more minutes would be played at the Santiago Bernabéu.
The first period of extra time would begin with the last goal of the match. At minute 96, Vinicius entered the area from the left wing and crossed it so that Benzema headed it and sent the ball into the back of the net to score the final 2-3 (5-4 overall) and culminate the historic comeback.
Madrid would take advantage of the advantage to continue looking for the goal in Mendy's goal. Camavinga at 103' would take a powerful shot from the edge of the area that would graze the crossbar. This would end the first part.
The second period of extra time would begin with the changes in Chelsea. Kovacic and Loftus-Cheek exit; and Jorginho and Saúl enter. At minute 114', Courtois prevented the tie, by stopping a powerful left-footed shot from Ziyech.
At 117 'Chelsea would try through Havertz, who heads to the near post, but the ball goes close. At 119', J orginho, inside the area, drops the ball after a corner and his shot goes wide.
The game would end with the celebration of the entire stadium. Real Madrid beat the current champion at home, achieving revenge for the elimination of the last edition of the Champions League. The Whites qualify for the semi-final, waiting for their opponent to be decided this Wednesday.
A historic Villarreal
The other match was held at the Allianz Arena where Bayern Munich hosted Villarreal in the second leg of the quarterfinals. It should be noted that in the first leg at the Cerámica stadium, the yellow submarine managed to beat the Bavarian team by a minimum.
The game would start with the team led by Julian Nagelsmann trying to impose their game, but the first clear of the match was from the visitors through Gerard in the 6th minute. The Spaniard came in from the right and took a shot from the edge of the area that went slightly wide.
From that moment on, the home team would generate many chances, several of them through Sané who, from the right, would send crosses into the area that the Bavarian forwards would not be able to take advantage of and goalkeeper Rulli would demonstrate security under the three posts.
One of the clearest of the Germans would come at minute 28, when another cross from Sané to the area, would be headed by the young Musiali, but the ball would go to the center of the goal where Rulli was, who stopped safely.
The clearest for the 'yellow submarine' so far was at 45+3' after a counterattack that Lo Celso passed through, appealing to Gerard's speed, but the Spaniard's shot hit the side of the net. In this way they would go to rest.
Starting the second half, Bayern would continue to attack and this time with a cross into the area by Sané that falls to Musiala and going long, near the baseline, he tried to give a cue pass, but Rulli arrived in time to clear the ball.
However, at 52' Robert Lewandowsk scored the goal for Bayern. The play began with a Villarreal exit that Parejo tried to pass to Capoue who was in the middle of the field, but Upamecano cuts the ball and passes it to Müller, who passes it to the Pole who was between the central defenders and takes the creeping shot that hits the post and enters.
This is how the partial 1-0 and tie in the tie took place. Quickly, the Germans would try to achieve a comeback and this time through Müler. Goretzka arrives at speed down the right wing and he centers it into the area for the '25' to arrive, but Lo Celso manages to hinder the German's shot.
The home side would keep trying and at minute 70, once again, Sané took a cross from the right that left Müller alone, but his header would go wide.
The final minutes would be decisive and although the home team would continue to generate chances that disturbed Rulli's goal, Villarreal tried to take advantage of some cons.
However, at 88' there was a counterattack by the visitors that started from Parejo, he passed the ball to Lo Celso who was coming out at speed and gave the ball between the lines to Gerard, who entered from the left and thus sent a creeping center to the far post for Chukwueze to shoot and convert the final 1-1 (1-2 on aggregate).
Bayern would not have enough time to react and with that result Villarreal qualified for the semifinals, eliminating one of the clear favorites to lift the Cup. The Spanish team will wait for their rival who will be decided in Wednesday's matches.