Rodrygo twice against Chelsea to lead Real Madrid to the Champions League semi-finals

Real Madrid dominated in England once again. After beating Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield in the previous round, Los Blancos defeated Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to progress to the Champions League semi-finals.

Neither Karim Benzema nor Vinicius Juniors stood out this time, with Rodrygo Goes and Fede Valverde coming to the fore to lead Real Madrid to victory.

Rodrygo is also a world class player

Everyone praises Vinicius and we tend to forget that Rodrygo is a world-class player too.

He can dribble past opponents and link up with teammates in attack, being clinical in front of goal when needed. This time, he netted a brace at the Stamford Bridge.

The usual one: Courtois

The Belgian goalkeeper made a big save just before the interval to deny Marc Cucurella from close range.

His save was celebrated as a goal by Rela Madrid’s players. Once again, he showed that he is the best shot-stopper in the world.

What wasn’t supposed to happen, happened

Militao was shown the yellow card midway through the first half and will miss the first leg of the semi-finals.

There the Real Madrid defence could face Erling Haaland and many would wonder who can stop the Norwegian striker.

Antonio Rudiger could be assigned with this task. He was solid after coming off the bench to replace the injured David Alaba at half-time.

Havertz didn’t start in the first leg…

The German forward was Chelsea’s best player by far. And the worst thing for the English team is that he started on the bench in the first leg.

He created danger in front of Real Madrid’s goal and troubled the hosts’ defenders.