Chelsea advanced to the finals of the Champions League for the third time in their history with a 2-0 win against Real Madrid, securing a 3-1 win on aggregate.
Goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount did the damage against Los Blancos on Wednesday night.
Zidane’s side were lucky to not have suffered a worse defeat as they were largely lacklustre in the second half and the hosts had ample chances which they couldn’t see through.
Match report
It promised to be an end to end game as both sides had a couple of chances from the get go. However, both keepers proved equal to the task, securing some brilliant saves.
In the 18th minute, Timo Werner thought he had put the Blues in front but his effort was ruled out for offside. The German was beyond the last defender when he was picked out by a cross from Chilwell.
At the other end, Benzema came close to opening the scoring with a powerful shot. But Edouard Mendy pulled off a superb fingertip save to deny the Frenchman.
Just a few minutes later, Chelsea were in the lead. N’Golo Kanté played a nice one-two with Werner before picking out Kai Havertz. The German lobbed a left-footed strike over the top of Courtois but saw his effort ricochet off the top of the crossbar and into the path of Werner who made no mistake in heading in the rebound.
Benzema came close to an equaliser for the visitors but once again, Mendy proved equal to the task with another astounding save.
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In the opening stages of the second half, Havertz came close to putting the tie beyond Madrid but his header from Azpilicueta’s cross cannoned off the bar.
Chelsea continued to pile sustained pressure on Real Madrid but were frequently let down by the finish.
However, their constant prodding paid off in the closing stages when Mason Mount doubled the Blues’ lead. Kanté stole possession from Nacho and released Pulisic down the right. The American twists and turns before sending a cutback for Mount who slid in convert at the near post thus securing the win.
The win means Thomas Tuchel’s side will face Manchester City in what is set to be an all-English Champions League final.
Post-match comments
“We deserved to win. The first half was difficult because they had a lot of possession and made us suffer, but every ball from us was dangerous,” Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel said after the match.
“We never lost the hunger, the desire to defend. In the second half we had even better structure to defend and it was a fantastic performance – we could have scored so much earlier and more to be safe, but it’s no time for criticism now. It’s a fantastic achievement; big congratulations to the team.”
Real Madrid coach Zinédine Zidane, also gave his views after the game, stating that Chelsea deserved the win.
“We can say that yes, they deserved the win. We fought and tried but they deserved to win and go through. The players who have played tonight were fit to play.
“I’m proud of my boys: we tried, we have got this far just one game from the final. Chelsea played a great match and have gone through and we have to say well done to them.”
Vinícius Júnior, Real Madrid winger: “We played against a good team and we gave it our all. I’m sure next year we’ll be back and in the final. It’s tough for a side like ours who have won everything in the last few years, but you’re always going to lose at some point. We need to work hard and bounce back.”
Azpilicueta on facing Manchester City in the final: “We have played them lots of times but it’s a Champions League final; we go with everything. We believe in ourselves, we know we will have to work hard but we are ready for it.”
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