Vinicius Jr stars in Real Madrid’s win (video)

Author: Soorya G

Brazilian sensation Vinicius Jr. was at the heart of his team’s dominant victory in the Champions League, as Real Madrid beat poor Chelsea 2-0. The player had two assists in the game and came close to scoring on a couple of occasions, making him the best player on the pitch at the Santiago Bernabéu. It was a game that the 14-time Champions League winners were hoping would go to the top, despite the fact that these two teams met in an incredibly tight game in last year’s competition. However, Chelsea find themselves in a terrible situation this time around, as they are in the midst of a major crisis.

Chelsea could have been ahead as early as the second minute of the game, when Real’s high pressing strategy resulted in a quick break for the visitors. Defender Eder Militão did well to deflect João Félix’s shot in the best possible way, and the next shot was saved by Thaibut Courtois. The almost telepathic connection between Benzema and Vinícius was in full swing, as the pair combined to create some early chances.

Chelsea couldn’t hold off the constant shooting from their own goal for long, and ended up conceding in the 21st minute. Dani Carvajal, who has been criticized for his recent performances, passed a beautiful ball to Vinícius, before the Brazilian did a fabulous job to find Benzema in front of an open goal, a chance that the Ballon d’Or holder didn’t miss. Vinicius played well for the rest of the match, tormenting the Chelsea defense. In the second half, he put Luka Modric in a dangerous position, but the Croatian’s shot went wide. Things got worse for the Blues when Marco Asensio was sent off.

Milan beat Napoli at the San Siro

Luciano Spalletti’s side were looking for revenge in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after suffering a 4-0 defeat to Napoli.

Napoli went on the attack from the start, with excellent work from Piotr Zielinski finding Georgian striker Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, before the sensation shockingly missed a great chance to put his side ahead. Andre Frank Zambo Anguissa’s shot forced a save from Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan as Napoli knocked on the door several times, all in the first five minutes after kick-off. Anguissa took the ball away from the Neapolitan side in a dangerous move to set up a one-two between Di Lorenzo and Piotr Zielinski, but the Pole perhaps should have passed to the defender instead of taking a shot that resulted in the regulation save.

Very much against the run of play, an exciting run from Brahim Diaz gave the Spaniard options on both sides. Diaz found Leao on the right wing, who played it to Ismail Bennacer, who fired into the back of the net to give Stefano Pioli’s side the decisive goal. Things only got worse for Napoli after Anguissa was shown a red. Spalletti’s men have a lot to think about ahead of the second leg at home next week, where they hope to turn things around.