Chelsea and Real Madrid dished up a thoroughly entertaining game last night at Stamford Bridge with the La Liga side taking a 3-1 advantage back to the Bernabeu next week.
Carlo Ancelotti got his set-up spot on at the bridge and it caused Chelsea plenty of problems in the first half in which they struggled to deal with Madrid. Two spectacular headers from Karim Benzema raced Real into a 2-0 lead after 24 minutes and Chelsea were lucky it was not more. Kai Havertz pulled one back for the Blues with a header of his own before the half, which should have given the London side renewed hope.
That, however, was swept away just after the break, when Edouard Mendy and Antonio Rudiger got into a mix-up and gifted Benzema his third. Chelsea had changed to a 4-3-3 in the second half and it bred more success, with the Blues creating several chances but failing to put them away. Now they have it all to do next week at the Bernabeu or else they will be handing over the crown they claimed last season.
Here are the Chelsea player ratings from a difficult night for the Blues…
Edouard Mendy – 4.5
Tough night for the normally reliable keeper. Could not do anything about Benzema’s spectacular headers but was totally at fault for the third when his pass was short to Rudiger. Nearly did it again later on which could have killed the tie if Real Madrid had scored.
Andreas Christensen – 4.5
Was given the run around by Vinicius Junior in the first half and rightly got hooked off at halftime.
Thiago Silva – 6
The best of the bunch on a bad night for Chelsea’s defence but was part of a backline that was not protected by its midfield at all in the first half. Could not deal with Benzema but many have failed at that task this season.
Antonio Rudiger – 5
Did ok in the first half but was a little shaky at times throughout. Was part of the mix up for the third goal, in which he should have tackled Benzema with his right foot instead of his left, but the German was on a yellow card and might not have wanted to risk it, which is understandable.
Reece James – 6.5
Caused Real Madrid a few problems and had a good shot saved by Courtois in the second half. The Englishman was involved in the build-up for Chelsea’s goal but was susceptible defensively at times.
N’Golo Kante – 5
An off night for Kante, as the Frenchman was part of a midfield that got overrun in the first half, which caused the Blue’s defence a plethora of problems. The performance resulted in him being taken off at the half.
Jorginho – 6
Got the assist for Havertz’s goal after putting in a lovely cross for the German. Did ok overall but was all over the place for Madrid’s second goal.
Cesar Azpilicueta – 6.5
Made some good clearances throughout and was a big part of Chelsea’s second-half performance, creating the Premier League side’s two best chances of the second half, forcing a spectacular save from Courtois and crossing for Lukaku’s header.
Mason Mount – 6
Saw a really good effort just go over in the second half but did not impact the game apart from that.
Christian Pulisic – 5
Failed to cause Real Madrid any problems, which the American was certainly in the side to do with Dani Carvajal being susceptible defensively this season.
Kai Havertz – 7.5
The Blue’s best player on the night. The German was a constant threat throughout and scored the London side’s only goal with a brilliant header. Another performance to add to his recent run of form.
Subs: Mateo Kovacic (7), Hakim Ziyech (6), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (6), Romelu Lukaku (5)
Kovacic was the best of the subs, as he helped the Blues gain some control in midfield after a torrid first half. Loftus-Cheek added a bit of bite to the midfield, as Ziyech failed to have an impact on the night’s proceedings. Lukaku was barely involved but missed a huge chance with a header that sailed wide.