Timo Werner, on the other hand, made it 3-0. For many reasons, he had to be the cult hero, and if traveling fans struggled to figure it all out – completely lost in the moment – they were not alone. The biggest return result in the history of the club was in progress. To put the magnitude of the challenge Chelsea face in some kind of perspective, only one club had ever overturned a two-goal deficit from a home first leg in the Champions League. This was Manchester United in 2019 against a team of Paris Saint-Germain led by Thomas Tuchel. In a night that will long be remembered by all in attendance, Tuchel set up boldly and was rewarded for his business, with his team starting off brilliantly and getting better and better. Reese James was huge while Mount led a support cast that never stopped running. Or believing. The problem was that Real Madrid was not over. It is never. If they have 13 European cups, they seem to have almost as many lives in the organization each season. They scored the equalizer when Luka Modric rolled a luxurious pass out of the boot for substitute Rodrigo to reach home volley. Even then, Chelsea may have bitten it after the end of 90 minutes. Twice, substitute Kristian Pulisic fired high. Real would make what proved to be the decisive blow early in overtime. When Vinícius Júnior got up in a cross from the left, Karim Benzema bent over Rüdiger and the Chelsea defender could only turn around in horror, slipping as he did so, unable to prevent what was coming. Benzema buried his head. Thibaut Courtois can not stop Timo Werner to score Chelsea’s third goal of the night. Photo: Chris Brunskill / Fantasista / Getty Images Chelsea refused to go quietly. The drama was unwavering until the end, the passions were swirling, the tension was overwhelming. Tuhel received a yellow card for complaining to the referee, but César Azpilicueta, an unused substitute, also received a yellow card. Hakim Ziyech, as a substitute, extended Thibaut Courtois to the crossbar, while Federico Valverde made a significant save for another replacement, Jorginho. Real was attached. There was a great opportunity when Kai Haverts nodded outside of James’s cross and then, with goalkeeper Edward Medy opening the corner, Zigech shot and Zorginio pulled out when he had to score. The full-time whistle caused an explosion of emotion. Real was happy, renewed, its conductors had found a way again. Montrich was amazing. Chelsea was devastated. Rudiger screamed in the night sky as if he could not understand that the defense of the club’s title was over before he fell on the lawn and he was not alone. It will take some time for the pain to go away, although Chelsea must somehow recover in time for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace. The home side was expecting something smoother at the start. “No juegues con el rey” wrote the slogan on their giant tifo. The image showed the king drawing cards with the number 13 over a European Cup. Don’t play with him, okay? Chelsea did not listen. Tightening up on Tuhel’s 4-3-1-2 surprise system – Ruben Loftus-Chick to the right of the midfield, solid behind broken forwards – scored the first goal they longed for. It was Werner who made a move he did not seem to know much about and there Mount erupted to finish. The Fiver: sign up and receive our daily football email. Tuhel did not want to die in amazement. It was unbelievable things because Real could see the places behind Chelsea’s defense. Vinicius looked at them greedily. He was often one-on-one with James and early on it was a moment that tricked him into buying a foul and a yellow card for his marker. Benzema fired a shot over the crossbar. Tuhel’s reasoning was clear. No danger, no reward that James summed up, playing fearlessly despite his detention, not to mention strength in duels. Chelsea continued to push in the second half. Haverts entered dangerous areas and, after Real had been half cleared in a corner, James shot a low shot out. Did he really leave Montrich? Real did not speak. But from Mount’s corner, Rudiger sidelined Montrich and headed in Courtois. Real shuffled. Benzema was dismissed by a James Tackle rescue, Medy repelled a foul by Tony Kroos and Valverde was fired shortly before. And yet it was Chelsea who were most frustrated when Alonso took a second bite on his chance from Danny Carvajal and hit the far corner. The video assistant would detect that the ball had first been lifted from Alonso’s thigh and brushed his hand. Benzema sent a header to the crossbar and then Werner got into a fight and sent Casimiro, David Alaba and Carvajal to the Santiago Bernabeu metro station before seeing his shot go out of Courtois’ gauntlet. corner. Haverts would have made it almost 4-0 just for Courtois to keep his head out. Chelsea’s tough luck story was tough.
