Chelsea-Real Madrid Benzema is worth three

Never doubt Madrid in the European Cup. Neither of this, nor of those who preceded him, nor of those to come. He is co-author, promoter and multi-winner of a competition that transforms him. From start to finish, like at Stamford Bridge, or when he makes a mistake at first resorting to the restorative effect of the Bernabéu, that stadium capable of going into a trance like no other in its Cup. Madrid won because they have Benzema and Chelsea, not . In reality, nobody has Benzema, who is worth half a dozen positions, even in the same move. He comes out of London bathed in gold and as the leader of a team that, even in its worst moments, only plays dead.

Seven years ago, with the season on the rise, Ancelotti put Ramos as a midfielder in a Champions League quarter-final against Atlético (and it went well), proof that all principles are inalienable until they are renounced. He usually mediates major cause. This is how the recovered Italian understood it this time (he traveled this Wednesday after a negative for COVID almost in discount) by putting a fourth midfielder in Stamford Bridge. The impression remains that Valverde came more by way of elimination than conviction: Ancelotti does not quite believe Asensio or Rodrygo, the rest of the bench with capacity for the position is mummified (Hazard, Bale…) and Chelsea It is a blue tank that is fought with lungs. And Valverde offered him a tactical variant of some interest: the possibility of defending with five (the Uruguayan as a winger and Carvajal as a central defender) in the withdrawal. His game was simply spectacular in both directions.

Tuchel also dropped a gear by inserting Azpilicueta as left back instead of Marcos Alonso, a vice winger. In a way, Chelsea becomes a mirror of Madrid: they don’t bite at first pressure, they leave that job to their two concrete midfielders, Jorginho and Kanté, and penalize the loss of the rival with dizzying transitions. That explains the lack of usefulness of benchmarks like Lukaku or Werner.

a genius is on the loose

The thing was a game of ambushes. Havertz participated in the first, well closed by Alaba. In the second, Madrid had the goal. Benzema, that platinum bullet that Chelsea lacks, changed the course of a counter doomed to failure with a backheel, Valverde gave the advance reel and Vinicius ended up crashing his shot off the crossbar. The match had little to do with the tie a year ago, in which the London team’s automatisms evaporated Madrid in the first leg and in the second leg.

This time he really went for Chelsea and soon found a prize thanks to Benzema, in a move that defines him as exceptional in almost all territories. He came looking for the ball in the center like an inside, leaked a deep delivery to Vinicius like a midfielder and ended up heading the net like a matador. And with Chelsea on the canvas, he immediately went to another center from Modric to hit a second counter-footed header that also beat Mendy. 0-2 of a Madrid at the disposal of the Frenchman, well associated with Vinicius, whose ability to mess up defenses, even with his shortcomings, is inimitable.

Madrid selected their handballs well, with sense and precision, at the hands of Kroos and Modric, who know this European cloth well. He was on the verge of the third Carvajal, to which a counterattack took him to the zone of nine. His shot died on the tips of Mendy’s fingers. And yet, before the break, he was caught by a header from Havertz with his defense out of place that left his advantage to a minimum. But there was no collapse: in a sigh Benzema missed the third by a span, and after the break Mendy made a Karius in a suicide transfer to Rüdiger and the Frenchman, who smelled something because he traveled 50 meters of faith, ruined the tuchel’s rudder stroke.

the lace

The first thing the German saw after putting in Kovacic and Ziyech and reducing his defense to four was his goalkeeper’s blunder and the 1-3. There is no blackboard that can withstand your own individual error or the genius of others. This was from Courtois, who took off to the top corner to deny Azpilicueta the goal. Neither does Chelsea have anything that comes close.

Lukaku’s entry coincided with Militao’s knee injury and danger rained down on Madrid. The Belgian spared a single header in that blitz. For the first time in the duel he felt truly overwhelmed. This is how Casemiro understood it, who assumed the role of third central defender. There Chelsea subsided and resigned himself to a period comeback at the Bernabéu. Bad place to try, even for the champion.