Chelsea hold the upper hand with an away goal heading into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid after a ...
Chelsea hold the upper hand with an away goal heading into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid after a tight battle in the Spanish capital ended 1-1 on Tuesday.
Christian Pulisic rewarded a bright start from the visitors with a calm finish on 14 minutes.
But Karim Benzema’s brilliant strike brought the 13-time European champions to life just before the half-hour mark.
Here are the talking points from the first Champions League semi-final.
Madrid show their age
Madrid’s starting XI have a combined 31 Champions League winner’s medals, eight of whom made up the core of the side that won the competition three seasons in a row between 2016 and 2018.
⚪️ Karim Benzema (33 years, 129 days) becomes the oldest scorer for Real Madrid in a Champions League semi-final, taking the record from Cristiano Ronaldo (32 years, 86 days) 💪#UCL pic.twitter.com/m4eUzW52qi
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 27, 2021
However, that experience counted for little against Chelsea’s younger and fresher legs.
Pulisic, Timo Werner and Mason Mount stretched Real’s back three, while N’Golo Kante and Jorginho did not allow Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric to control midfield as they did in the previous round against Liverpool.
N'Golo Kanté contested more duels (21) and completed more take-ons (6) than any other player on the...
