Goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount saw Tuchel’s men knockout Real Madrid 3 – 1 on aggregate and are set for an all-English, all-Blue final in Istanbul.
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Chelsea made record 13-time European Cup champions Real Madrid look ordinary as goals from Werner and the impressive Mason Mount sealed a 2-0 victory that ousted Madrid 3-1 on aggregate and booked the Blues a spot in the UEFA Champions League final in 2021.
Thomas Tuchel made just one change to his side that drew in Madrid, Christian Pulisic was replaced by the 21-year-old German international Kai Havertz. Madrid made a huge change to their defense, as their captain Sergio Ramos and Ferland Mendy started ahead of Marcelo and the injured Varane. Zidane gave Eden Hazard an opportunity to start against his former club even though the Belgian international was not fully fit, a move he might rue in hindsight.
The Blues took the lead early in the game, thanks to the awareness of Timo Werner, while N’Golo Kante was the man yet again who created the play which led to the goal. After a brilliant one-two with Werner, he released Kai Havertz who had plenty of space and tried to dink the ball over the keeper. Unfortunately, his effort hit the crossbar but Werner was alert to the simple opportunity and headed the ball into the empty net.
Madrid had total ball possession of 68% throughout the game but couldn’t get behind the Chelsea defense and struggled to create any big opportunities. In the 67th minute, the goalscorer made way for Christian Pulisic whose involvement in the game was just exceptional. Chelsea sealed the game in the 85th minute when Kante won the ball in the Madrid half and released Pulisic on the right flank. The American then waited for Mount to make his run into the box and rolled the ball towards him and with that the game was signed, sealed and delivered.
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This victory saw Chelsea advancing to the Champions League finals for the third time in the club’s history. They will take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in an all-English final and will aim to win the competition for the second time since winning it almost a decade ago, back in the 2012 season. This victory also meant that Chelsea became the first club to have both the Men’s and Women’s team to reach the Champions League Final in the same season. Chelsea under Tuchel also have the opportunity to do a double as they meet Leicester City in the FA Cup Final on the 15th of May.
[Image Credit: UEFA Champions League]
Shashank Iyer