Well, that didn’t last long.
After a quite impressive first 20 minutes where they created a few chances, Chelsea are a goal down in the Bernabeu.
It was too easy for Karim Benzema in the end. He just had to slot home the rebound after Vinicius Jr’s shot was saved by Kepa.
It was bad defending, bad goalkeeping, and ultimately just a bad idea to try and sit so deep for 90 minutes. There’s time to get back into the game, but a change of plan will be needed.
You can see the goal in the clip embedded here:
King Karim strikes again!! 👑
Real Madrid take their lead through captain and relentless goalscorer Karim Benzema! 🙌#UCL pic.twitter.com/EY6F6DEYWM
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 12, 2023
[Footage from BT Sport]
GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Chelsea (Benzema) #RMACHE pic.twitter.com/ONJSrBur4p
— The Premier League Club (@TPLCSports) April 12, 2023
[Footage from BeinSport]
Karim Benzema loves scoring against Chelsea!
Dani Carvajal with a perfect pass. 🤌 pic.twitter.com/Zzm4L45JDu
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 12, 2023
[Footage from CBS Sport]
What in the world is Raheem Sterling doing on the field? He looks absolutely lost out there. As much as everyone has complained about Havertz (mainly because he’s not cut out to be a 9), Sterling has done far less than Havertz to deserve selection. It’s like Lampard has this idea that he’ll look brilliant by seeing something in his fellow Englishman that no one else saw, but Sterling looked totally out of sorts in the first half playing narrow and looking easily knocked off the ball. Wrong call, Frank!