Real Madrid breeze past 10 man Chelsea in Champions League first leg, real madrid - chelsea, Chelsea, chelsea vs real madrid, real madrid vs. chelsea,

 

Real Madrid breeze past 10 man Chelsea in Champions League first leg, real madrid - chelsea, Chelsea, chelsea vs real madrid, real madrid vs. chelsea,

Real Madrid, the defending champions, secured a comfortable 2-0 victory against Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal at the Santiago Bernabeu. 

Despite a strong start from Chelsea under new caretaker manager Frank Lampard, Madrid took control of the game and scored their first goal just after 20 minutes when Karim Benzema capitalized on a loose ball in front of goal. 

This was Benzema's 90th Champions League goal, with the last 11 being scored against English clubs.Madrid continued to dominate the game, and Chelsea's task became even more challenging when Ben Chilwell received a straight red card for hauling down Rodrygo from behind.

 Madrid sealed the victory with a second goal from Marco Asensio in the 71st minute, shortly after he replaced Rodrygo.Madrid could have scored more goals, and Chelsea's hopes of progressing in the tournament now appear to be in jeopardy.

Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised Marco Asensio after their 2-0 victory over Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal. Ancelotti highlighted Asensio's ability to be decisive and score or assist at any moment. He also compared him to Rodrygo, stating that the latter takes more risks, moves without the ball and is more vertical, while Asensio is good between the lines and has a great shot.

Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema were again the stars for Madrid, with the Brazilian recording two assists to take his total goal contributions to 11 in the competition this season. Benzema scored the first goal of the match and could have effectively ended Chelsea's hopes in added time when he missed a chance to score.

After the match, Vinicius emphasized the importance of staying calm for the return leg, knowing how difficult it is to play away from home. He also spoke of the special atmosphere in the Champions League and the pressure to perform for a club like Real Madrid.

Chelsea's struggles in front of goal continued, with the London club failing to score for the fourth game in a row, their longest barren run since 1993. Substitute Mason Mount came closest to scoring, but former teammate Antonio Rudiger blocked his shot.

After the match, Chelsea coach Frank Lampard embraced Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who had previously managed Chelsea, acknowledging the strength of the Spanish side.

"They're a very good team, but we have to believe," Lampard told BT Sport, looking ahead to next week's return leg in London.

Meanwhile, Ancelotti was pleased with his team's performance, but recognized that the job was not yet complete.

"We have to do it with a complete game like we played tonight, it was a complete game tonight from the start," Ancelotti said. "The objective was to take the advantage and we have it, but we'll have to suffer. Chelsea are a good team with good players, we'll have to fight for another 90 minutes.

"Although we could have done more against 10 men, we used a lot of energy pressing them to win the ball, and after that we lacked a bit of energy and clarity to do better. We have to repeat this game again at Stamford Bridge."