The true extent of the superb job done by Thomas Tuchel since taking over at Chelsea has been summed up this evening, on the back of the Blues’ meeting with Real Madrid.
Benzema cancels out Pulisic
Tuchel and co. were of course back in action a short time ago.
The Londoners made the trip to the Spanish capital, for a highly anticipated Champions League semi-final showdown with Real Madrid.
Chelsea headed into proceedings as slight underdogs, but no doubt confident in their chances of an upset, having ousted favourites Manchester City from the FA Cup just over a week ago.
In turn, it did not come as much of a surprise when it was indeed the visitors who went on to open the scoring at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
After a lofted Antonio Rudiger pass set Christian Pulisic free, the American did brilliantly to round Thibaut Courtois, before slotting home from close range:
Christian Pulisic with a superb solo effort! 🔥
He kept his head to take the ball down, round Courtois, and finish off the move 👏👏👏
Chelsea lead! pic.twitter.com/Fi15wVrwXl
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 27, 2021
Real, though, despite having had their backs firmly against the wall, soon showcased their experience.
After seeing out an extended spell of Chelsea pressure without conceding a 2nd, the Champions League experts levelled things up, courtesy of star man Karim Benzema:
THUNDEROUS FINISH! ⚡️
Benzema smashes the ball home on the turn and volley. Such a clinical strike!
Against the run of play Real Madrid are level… pic.twitter.com/byfE5d9wt6
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 27, 2021
And this proved all she wrote when it came to the goalscoring in Madrid, leaving the tie on a knife-edge ahead of next week’s return leg at Stamford Bridge.
Tuchel impressing
Despite avoiding defeat and bagging a potentially crucial away goal this evening, Chelsea will likely be left to feel just a little disappointed with the eventual result.
The Blues, for the most part, looked excellent in Madrid, holding an always dangerous Real side to just a solitary shot on target, whilst carving out a number of presentable opportunities of their own.
This came in no small part thanks to yet another tactical masterclass on the part of Thomas Tuchel, whose midfield press could easily have seen Chelsea two or three goals to the good inside the opening half hour.
And, as outlined above, on the back of yet another stellar outing on the club’s bench, an insight into just how impressively the German has performed since arriving in west London late in January has since been forthcoming.
Remarkably, as Chelsea boss, Tuchel has remained unbeaten in meetings with no less than six of the continent’s most highly regarded managers:
Thomas Tuchel has come up against the following managers since he’s been in charge at Chelsea:
Mourinho
Simeone
Klopp
Ancelotti
Guardiola
ZidaneHe hasn’t lost to any of them. pic.twitter.com/hnnq3w7Huy
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) April 27, 2021
Elsewhere, meanwhile, bookmakers Paddy Power have revealed the impact of tonight’s result on the latest Champions League winner odds.
Chelsea’s away goal has seen the Blues move to 16/5, whilst Real sit at 9/2.
Manchester City, though, remain favourites to go all the way:
Here’s how the outright market for the #UCL now looks
Man City 5/4
PSG 3/1
Chelsea 16/5
Real Madrid 9/2Bet here: https://t.co/CFZz7bwNQr
— Paddy Power (@paddypower) April 27, 2021
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