Chelsea were dumped out of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday, losing 5-4 aggregate to Spanish giants, Real Madrid.
Goals from Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner saw Chelsea go from 3-1 down on aggregate to 4-3 up; Rodrygo forced extra-time after finishing Luka Modric’s delightful pass; Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema linked up once again in extra-time to break Blues hearts.
Karim Benzema, who struck a hat-trick in London, grabbed a winner in the fifth minute of added time for a 5-4 aggregate triumph in spite of a 3-2 loss on the night.
The record champions could play city rivals Atletico Madrid in the other semi-final if Diego Simeone’s men can salvage a 1-0 deficit to Manchester City.
This is just as Bayern Munich were sent crashing out of the Champions League as Samuel Chukwueze’s 88th-minute strike secured a dramatic 2-1 aggregate victory for underdogs Villarreal.
Substitute Chukwueze, who had only been on the pitch for four minutes, finished off a rapid counter-attack when he converted Gerard Moreno’s cross to silence the Allianz Arena as Bayern were eliminated at the quarter-final stage for the second year in a row.
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Chukwueze finished off the slick counter-attack to rescue a 1-1 second leg draw for Villarreal in Munich, a week after their 1-0 win at home.
Robert Lewandowski had levelled the tie on aggregate early in the second half, but Bayern Munich could not find a winner and were hit by a sucker punch.
Bayern Munich’s coach, Julian Nagelsmann, admitted later that last week’s defeat “was the key, we lost the duel there”.
“Today we have done very well, it was one of the best games of the past months,” he added.
Coached by Unai Emery, Villarrea are now in the semi-finals of the elite continental competition having won the Europa League last season.
They will meet the winners of the Liverpool versus Benfica fixture of Wednesday, with the Reds defending a 3-1 lead at Anfield.
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