Spanish duo Villareal and Real Madrid have both qualified for the Champions League semi-finals after beating German champions Bayern and current Champions League winners Chelsea. Villareal will now face one of Liverpool or Benfica whilst Real Madrid will play against either Champions League favourites Manchester City or cross city rivals Atletico Madrid.
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Real Madrid managed to overturn a Chelsea comeback in what was on of the most memorable Champions League matchups in recent history.
It was a must win game for Chelsea as they had to come back from a 3-1 defeat they suffered at home in the previous leg. The first half went perfect for the Blues with fan favourite Mason Mount scoring an inch perfect goal to give hope to the Chelsea faithful. Real Madrid seemed nervous compared to Chelsea who looked up for the match and eager to complete a historic comeback.
The second half again started very well for Chelsea with in form center back Antonio Rudiger scoring a header from a corner in the 51st minute. Chelsea were still on the front foot and that showed when Marcos Alonso sent the away fans into uproar, only for the goal to be disallowed for a dubious handball by the Spaniard. Los Blancos than had their first real chance of the evening when star striker Karim Benzema managed to hit the crossbar from a header.
In the 75th minute Chelsea striker Timo Werner managed to pick up the ball, beat Dani Carvajal in a one on one and find the back of the net to give Chelsea the surprising lead on aggregate. As everyone thought that the game was over, in the 80th minute Luka Modric managed to play a beautiful outside of the booth pass towards young Brazilian Rodrygo who volleyed it past Edourad Mendy to send the tie to extra time.
There was only one man that was going to win it for Real Madrid and that man was Karim Benzema who continued his incredible goal scoring record in the 96th minute when he scored another header against the Blues to give Real Madrid the lead one again. Chelsea did have multiple chances in the remaining few minutes but it wasn’t enough for them as Real Madrid’s individual brilliance helped the Spanish team progress to the semi-finals.
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Villareal have defied the odds once again after first knocking out Italian giants Juventus in the round of 16 and now beating German champions Bayern albeit having only two shots on target across both legs. The Spanish side came into the second leg after surprisingly beating Bayern 1-0 at home in the first leg.
The game was mainly dominated by Bayern but due to Villareal’s strong defence consisting of youth like Pau Torres and experience like Raul Albiol the match was kept in reach for the Yellow Submarines. The first goal of the game came in the 52nd minute when Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski found the back of the net because of a defensive mistake from the Spanish side.
Most football fans were expecting the floodgates to open for Bayern once Lewandowski scored but that wasn’t the case. Villareal didn’t lose their concentration and did not let Bayern score another goal. In the 89th minute as everyone thought the game would enter extra time Villareal managed to find a fresh Samuel Chukwueze marauding into Bayern’s box. The Nigerian slotted the ball into the back of the net and sparked incredible celebrations as he sent the Spanish side to the Champions League semi-finals.
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