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The Champions League semifinals are finally here, and yesterday I was able to see the first match between Real Madrid and Chelsea. I have wanted to see an important match between these 2 teams since forever, specifically since Drogba and Lampard played at Chelsea, and that was a long time ago. They are both huge football clubs with a lot of important success in recent times, and this is the first time they will face each other off in the Champions League in many many years.

Unlike the other 2 semifinalists, Real Madrid and Chelsea have almost no chance of winning their national leagues. The disadvantage they currently have is big enough to reduce their possibilities to almost zero. In the case of Chelsea, it is mathematically impossible for them to finish in the first position of the Premier League, and in the case of Real Madrid, it is still possible but very unlikely because they need both Barcelona and Atletico to lose several points. Maybe one of them loses some points but both of them seem very unlikely.

Therefore, the Champions League is their only opportunity to win an important trophy this season. In comparison, Manchester City is about to become the new champion of the Premier League, and PSG is currently in the second position of the Ligue 1 but only 1 point behind Lille, so they still have a good opportunity to win their national league.

I believe it is fair to consider the winner between City and PSG as the favorite for the final, Real Madrid and Chelsea are great teams of course, but they have proved time and time again their performance isn't always up to standards, however, in 1 single match anything can happen.

Before this match, Real Madrid lost 4 points in 3 matches in the Spanish league, which is why I said they have no chance of winning it whatsoever, and Chelsea is struggling to keep itself in the fourth position which would still allow them to participate in the Champions League next season. Of their last 5 league matches, they only won 2. It is clear these 2 teams have been focusing most of their energy in the Champions League, not in their national competitions.

When it comes to the squads, Real Madrid has much more experience. Some of Madrid's players have won 4 Champions League, such as Benzema, Carvajal, Casemiro, Modric, Kroos, etc, and Chelsea players have zero, with the exception of Kovacic because he won 3 Champions League when he was a Real Madrid player. So there is a massive difference in experience and if things get too tense, having a lot of players with extensive experience might be important. However, since Chelsea's squad is younger on average, they could be more energetic and fast. Real Madrid's midfield has been getting slower these past few years, and this is something Chelsea could exploit thanks to their youth.

This is a nice match between players with a great past and players that want to have a great future. There are young players in Real Madrid such as Vinicius or Rodrygo and old players in Chelsea such as Thiago Silva and Giroud, I am just generalizing and talking about the average of both squads.

How was the match?

Chelsea began the match in full high-pressure mode. Their intensity was overwhelming for Real Madrid players, and they completely dominated the first 20 minutes of the match. Their younger age on average, and the great capacity to press on the rivals from players such as Kante and Werner was key for them during these minutes.

There was an epic save from Courtois in the 9-minute mark after a rapid counterattack from Chelsea. The most dangerous pass came in what should have been Marcelo's defensive zone but as usual, he wasn't there and it was Nacho who tried unsuccessfully to stop the attack. Marcelo couldn't keep up with Chelsea players when defending, and by now this shouldn't be a surprise. Real Madrid will really need Mendy all healthy for the second match if they wanna compete properly.

Chelsea was creating very dangerous moves and was completely outplaying Madrid's 5 defensive players. It isn't normal to play with that many defenses but I think the absence of Mendy is the reason for this. After several attempts, the goal finally came for Chelsea. There was a long cross to Pulisic who outran Varane and Nacho, he found himself face to face with the goalkeeper with a lot of space, dribbled him, and scored an easy goal. In that play, Varane and Nacho did a horrible mistake when they were trying to fix their positions. They left Pulisic with no mark and a lot of space to do everything he wanted. Pulisic is a player with a lot of class and the goal was beautiful.

Chelsea continued to do a lot of high pressing that Madrid's slower players couldn't overcome. Kante was always over Kroos for example and Timo Werner was doing the same to Carvajal. Kroos is a terrific midfielder but he is also very slow and struggles to do his job when facing faster players. I am sure Kante was like a nightmare for him, at least during the first 20-25 minutes of the match.

Real Madrid managed to score an anti-climatic goal because the match was completely under Chelsea's control. Chelsea players were faster, and with more precise passes. In football, there is a popular saying in which if the attacking team does 2 headers inside the penalty box, the play will finish with a goal. This is what happened in a corner kick. Marcelo received the ball from Modric, crosses it into the penalty box, and then there are 2 consecutive Madrid's headers, first Casemiro and then Militao. The ball reaches Benzema who then scores a great volley goal. Real Madrid wasn't causing that much danger and this goal changed the emotional impulse between the teams. This goal happened at the 29-minute mark, and Chelsea was never the same. I am not quite sure, but I believe that goal was the first shot from Madrid in the entire match. That's how dominant Chelsea was during the beginning.

The second half was completely different, it started much slower. I believe Chelsea's players simply couldn't keep up with the high pressing they did at the beginning of the first half and were now a bit more relaxed and passive. Football matches are 90 minutes at least so if you deplete your energy in 45 minutes, you will suffer a lot during the following 45 minutes, so managing the energy levels in the players is extremely important. Real Madrid players were much more comfortable in the second half because they weren't being overwhelmed by Chelsea's players like before.

This slower pace also means the second half was much more boring. There were almost no important attacking plays, and even after the coaches did some substitutions the slower pace remained. This was a special match for Hazard because he was Chelsea's main star until 2 years ago where he signed for Real Madrid. So far, he has been a huge disappointment for Real Madrid fans because his performance has been very low and he is constantly getting injured. He played for about 30 minutes and didn't do much.

I believe the best player in the match was Kante. He dominated Kroos during the first half and was important for Chelsea both when defending and when attacking. Kante is a total beast in the midfield and is probably the best in the world in his position. If you want to see a summary of the best moments you can find it on this ESPN page.

Whats next?

Later today I plan to see the other semifinal, PSG vs Manchester City. The 2 state clubs against each other. I am actually quite excited about this match and I think it is going to be better than the match between Chelsea and Real Madrid, simply because these 2 teams have better players and have maintained a higher performance throughout the season. Besides, the presence of both Neymar and Mbappe guarantees good football!