Author – AmritSantlani
Real Madrid and AC Milan booked their places in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals at the expense of Chelsea and Napoli respectively. Real Madrid reached their 11th Champions League semi-final after beating Chelsea 2-0 in the quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge. Rodrygo scored both goals to ensure the La Liga giants progressed to the next round with a 4-0 aggregate, having won the first leg by the same scoreline. Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu.
In the other quarter-final on Wednesday night, AC Milan drew 1-1 with Napoli, but Stefano Piolo’s side reached the final four of the Champions League for the first time since 2007 after winning the first leg 1-0. Olivier Giroud scored for AC Milan at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, before Victor Osimhen grabbed a last-gasp equaliser, but Luciano Spalletti’s side were eliminated thanks to Ismael Bennacer’s goal.
Rodrygo leads Real Madrid to UCL semi-finals, while Chelsea come back to haunt the hosts
Losing 2-0 in the first leg, Chelsea’s interim manager Frank Lampard, who has yet to win a single match since taking charge of the club, insisted that “special things can happen at Stamford Bridge”. The Premier League side’s performance in the first half showed that Lampard’s pep talk before the match really worked.
At the start of the game, Kante could have put the hosts ahead, but Madrid took the initiative. Vinícius and Modric tested Arrizabalaga’s reaction. The goalkeeper saved after a mistake by his partners. And just before the break, his visavi – Courtois prevented Cucurelli from opening an account. Everything was decided in the second half. Real Madrid’s Brazilian striker scored twice after a pass from compatriot Vinícius and an assist from Valverde.
Napoli punished for slow finishing as AC Milan rediscover glory days
Napoli were boosted by the return of Victor Osimhen, who missed the first leg, and the hosts had a flurry of chances early in the first half, coming close with shots from Matteo Politano and KhvichaKvaratskhelia.
A rare Milan foray resulted in a penalty after Rafael Leao was chopped down, but Olivier Giroud’s spot-kick was saved by Alex Meret. The Italian goalkeeper once again saved the French striker from close range, but a brilliant move from Leao undid all of Napoli’s good work. Giroud scored to give Milan a two-goal lead.
Kvaratskhelia missed two good chances from close range at the start of the second half as Spalletti’s side increased the pressure.Kvaratskhelia then missed a penalty, Mike Maignan kept Milan’s lead intact. The second half was all about Napoli: they had plenty of chances but failed to hit the target, so Piolo and Co held on for an impressive victory.