Real Madrid are nearly into the Champions League semifinals after beating Chelsea 2-0 on Wednesday in their quarterfinal first leg at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. A first-half strike from Karim Benzema and a second-half golazo from Marcos Asensio sees Los Blancos in a comfortable position ahead of Tuesday's journey to London. Even a one-goal loss at Stamford Bridge would see Carlo Ancelotti's team through.
But how did everybody perform? Here are our player ratings for the match:
Real Madrid ratings
By Roger Gonzalez
| Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Thibaut Courtois | 90 | Stonewalled Raheem Sterling with a ridiculous near-post save. Made all the plays he needed to and will surely buy Antonio Rudiger a gift for his block late in this one. The Belgian was his usual acrobatic self. | 7 |
(DEF) Eduardo Camavinga | 71 | A solid shift at left back, showing off his verasility. His passing was crisp for the most part and didn't make any big mistakes. It was quiet but effective in the end. Marked well and did not get driven past, increasingly a habit for him. | 7 |
(DEF) David Alaba | 90 | Superb. Intercepted the ball four times, recovered it six times. Maybe he struggled a little bit in the air but overall he was composed and up to the task, no matter what came his way. | 8 |
(DEF) Eder Militao | 90 | He wasn't at his sharpest, but he really didn't have to be. While he won just half of his ground and aerial duels, his positioning was largely fantastic and seemed to always take the correct angle. | 7 |
(DEF) Dani Carvajal | 90 | Delivered an absolutely beautiful ball over the top to set up the first goal, making an unexpected impact in attack. Was on the wrong end of a studs-up challenge from Mason Mount. | 7 |
(MID) Fede Valverde | 90 | Completed 91% of his passes, hit nearly all of his long balls, never was dispossessed and recovered the ball seven times. One of the most consistent and versatile players in the world, and he was at it again. | 8 |
(MID) Toni Kroos | 84' | A passing clinic. He completed 76 of his 81 passes, and while most were lateral or back, it's what helps quickly open space to potentially switch fields. Was dominant defensively and recovered the ball eight times. | 8 |
(MID) Luka Modric | 81' | Almost scored early in the second half with a lovely curler. Getting better with age, and his awareness to play the quick corner is what helped get that second goal going. | 8 |
(FWD) Rodrygo | 71' | Probably didn't have the impact that he wanted in terms of scoring or assisting, but his great run led to Ben Chilwell's red card that ended any hope Chelsea had of getting a draw. That's an impact he'll take any day. | 6 |
(FWD) Vinicius Jr. | 90' | Fantastic run on the opening goal to force a rebound from Kepa. Got an assist later by feeding Marcos Asensio. Made the impact he desired. | 8 |
(FWD) Karim Benzema | 90' | ⚽ 21' It was a tap-in, but scoring is just what Benzema does. He was everywhere and nearly assisted Modric with a lovely lay off. Just a normal day's work for the legendary striker. | 8 |
| Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Marco Asensio | Rodrygo (71') | ⚽ 74' Came on and scored after just two minutes. Almost scored again from the corner of the box. An impact sub, and this will earn him more minutes. | 7 |
Antonio Rudiger | Camavinga (71') | Massive block on Mason Mount in the final moments, preventing a goal that could have changed this tie completely. | 8 |
Dani Ceballos | Modric (81') | Late sub who didn't put in a poor pass. | 7 |
Aurelien Tchouameni | Kroos (84') | Last sub of the game for Real that didn't get to make an impact. | N/A |
| Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Carlo Ancelotti | 4 | Continued to dominate English teams and had his team loose, motivated and inspired from the early moments. The move to bring on Marco Asensio paid off quickly, as did having Rudiger come in. Didn't make a single mistake, and his team rewarded him. | 9 |
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Chelsea ratings
By James Benge
| Name | Minutes | How did they do? | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
(GK) Kepa Arrizabalaga | 90 | Neither goal felt like a cataclysmic error from Kepa but elite shot stoppers tend to parry to safety not to Karim Benzema. The best in the business, like Thibaut Courtois at the other end, make those saves every time. | 4 |
(DEF) Reece James | 90 | Might James have offered more support to Wesley Fofana when it was apparent that he was struggling early on? It is hard to be sure because as a wing back, James was effective in the final third, where he combined well with N'Golo Kante. As a defender, however, James might never have been as frequently overrun as he was by VInicius. | 5 |
(DEF) Wesley Fofana | 90 | A clumsy first quarter of the game culminated in dispiriting fashion for the already booked Fofana, letting Vinicius Junior get goal side of him for the shot that led to Madrid's opener. It went from bad to worse early on as Vinicius took it upon himself to bully the French youngster. Fofana improved as the contest went on, albeit from a very low base. | 3 |
(DEF) Thiago Silva | 74 | An instinctive block on the line saved Chelsea's blushes in the first half; had it not been for their captain one suspects that the task in the second leg might be beyond the Blues, if it isn't already. | 6 |
(DEF) Kalidou Koulibaly | 54 | Koulibaly's response to a fairly tame punt over the top by Courtois typified his night. He ultimately scurried back to deny Rodrygo but had brought utterly unnecessary pressure on the Chelsea defense. Perhaps that was reflective of an injury as the veteran center back was forced off with injury soon after. | 5 |
(DEF) Ben Chilwell | 59 | The England international had hardly set the world alight in the first hour, his passing rather too loose when Chelsea tried to progress play down the left flank. Marc Cucurella then left him in an awkward position with Rodrygo running in behind him but grappling the shirt of his opponent for a straight red hardly seemed the best idea. | 3 |
(MID) N'Golo Kante | 74 | In his second start since one of the biggest injury crises of his career, no one could seriously have imagined Kante would be back to the sort of player who bullied Madrid two years ago. In flashes though that is exactly what you saw, a player with the drive to carry Chelsea up the field on his own, creating chances as well as denying them for Madrid. | 7 |
(MID) Enzo Fernandez | 90 | Like many in Chelsea blue, Fernandez started superbly, dropping into the space between the lines to deliver rapid passes that penetrated Madrid's high line. His raking passes grew more infrequent as the opposition responded to his bright start but this was still an impressive display from a youngster who is clearly not fazed by the biggest occasion. | 6 |
(MID) Mateo Kovacic | 90 | Kovacic left former Madrid team mate Dani Carvajal in far too much space to deliver the clipped pass that led to the hosts' first goal. This was ultimately an extremely disappointing return to the Santiago Bernabeu for Kovacic. | 4 |
(FWD) Joao Felix | 64 | Perhaps the only Chelsea player who posed a serious threat, his bright run in behind early on drew a smart save from Courtois. It was a lonely furrow that Felix ploughed, one where he was rather often asked to beat too many men before even getting a shot away. | 6 |
(FWD) Raheem Sterling | 64 | Whether by design or not, it all too often felt that Sterling was running towards the ball rather than stretching the Madrid defense in behind. When he did lurk on the last man he threatened, drawing one good save from Courtois, but you'd have liked to have seen much more of it. | 5 |
| Substitutes | Replaced | How did they do? | Rating |
Marc Cucurella | Koulibaly, 55' | Almost as soon as he came on, Cucurella offered an immediate insight as to why he has so infuriated Chelsea supporters, losing Rodrygo to force Chilwell into an awkward situation that led to a red card. Some good clearances later on hardly made amends. | 4 |
Kai Havertz | Sterling, 65' | Down to 10 men, Chelsea needed an outlet at the very least, if not someone who could deliver a moment of magic. Havertz never looked like providing much of either in an insipid cameo. | 4 |
Trevoh Chalobah | Felix, 65' | Given the trying circumstances in which he entered the game, Chalobah coped manfully with a tough task, making several important clearances and blocks. | 6 |
Mason Mount | Silva, 75' | A smart flick unleashed Cucurella on a rare attack of threat and purpose in the closing stages. But for a crucial block by Antonio Rudiger he might have changed the complexion of the tie with a late strike on goal. | 5 |
Conor Gallagher | Kante, 75' | The game was done and dusted by the time he entered the fray. | 5 |
| Manager | Subs used | How did the manager do? | Rating |
Frank Lampard | 5 | On the second game of his second tenure, Lampard seemed to have roughly the right idea of what would be needed to beat Madrid, a lot of luck defensively and rapid transitions paying off at the other end. Ultimately there is only so much any coach can do when his players are so outmatched across the pitch. | 6 |