Werner and Mount goals sink Real Madrid; Chelsea set up all-English final

UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg – Stamford Bridge – Wednesday, 5 May 2021

Chelsea 2 Real Madrid 0 (Chelsea win 3-1 on aggregate)
Goals: Timo Werner 28m, Mason Mount 85m

Chelsea beat Real Madrid 2-0 in the second leg of a semi-final tie to set up a Champions League final with another English side Manchester City. Coming on the back of a 1-1 draw at Madrid, Chelsea made a bright start and thought they had earned a goal on 18 minutes when Timo Werner put the ball into the net from a Ben Chilwell cross, but the goal was disallowed as the German was found to be marginally offside.

Karim Benzema came close to opening the scoring for Real when his curling low goalbound shot was saved by a diving Eduardo Mendy.

Werner eventually gave the hosts the lead in the 28th minute when he tapped in a header into an empty net after Kai Havertz’s chipped shot over an onrushing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois came off crossbar. Benzema was again in action as he almost found an equalizer when his header from Luka Modric’s cross dipped towards the crossbar, but Mendy was alert enough to parry it over.

The Blues came roaring back after the interval, creating chances galore with Mason Mount blazing an effort over and Havertz forcing Courtois into a lunging save. Real who started with their veteran defender Sergio Ramos and star forward Eden Hazard, both back from injuries and made substitutions through Federico Valverde and Marco Asensio in the 63rd minute, did little to impact the game and looked like they could fall behind by another goal anytime.

Their 68 per cent ball possession counted for little as they succumbed to one more Chelsea counterattack with Mount putting the game to bed with a close range tap-in from a Christian Pulisic cut-back in the 85th minute.

To round up the Stamford Bridge game – Real Madrid were a shadow of the team that won three CL titles in a row not very long ago and their aging side were simply no match to a Chelsea outfit that looked sprightly, opportunistic and showed a will to win.

Related articles