Real Madrid was lucky to get a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, Wednesday (28/4).
The defending champions of the Spanish League failed to take advantage of the opportunity to play at home to the first meeting in this semi-final against Chelsea.
Instead of appearing neatly and winning the match like the first leg of the quarter-final against Liverpool, Madrid was slacked off through Chelsea’s attractive game from the start.
Coach Zinedine Zidane’s gambling by playing a 3-5-2 pattern deserves to be a major factor in the host’s opposition to the Blues’ attack.
The Madrid camp is aware that, in the hands of Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea’s attack is so flexible with a pattern of three defenders and four midfielders, including two wingbacks.
Therefore, Zidane placed Marcelo and Dani Carvajal as wingbacks with the hope that they would have an effective function both in attack and defense.
Meanwhile, the three midfielders filled with Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric could win the game in the middle to comfortably press the visitors.
Unfortunately, this hope is contrary to the reality on the ground. Chelsea, who could easily ‘get in and out’ of Madrid’s defense in the first half, especially until the game has been running for half an hour.
In the second minute, Chelsea start attacking Madrid with Jorginho’s through-pass bait for Thomas Pulisic. Even though it was offside, Madrid should have realized from an early age that this effort was a serious threat.
The intensity of Chelsea’s attack was evident in the early days of the match. The club from the City of London is more likely to approach the opponent’s penalty box than Madrid.
The creativity of Mason Mount and also Pulisic was quite difficult to dammed the Madrid defense. If that wasn’t enough, Chelsea’s attack could also come from N’Golo Kante’s hard work and Jorginho’s measured passes.
Chelsea’s sporadic efforts to erode Madrid’s defense came close to fruition in the 10th minute. Unfortunately, Timo Werner lost his sharpness in front of goal.
Werner’s golden opportunity stems from a counterattack. Then Mount, who was able to reach the opponent’s penalty box, fired a cross to Pulisic who was at the far post.
Pulisic was not under heavy guard despite being overshadowed by Nacho Fernandez. This is evidenced by the player from the United States who can still provide mature bait to Werner.
It’s just that Werner’s cheating, who was completely overlooked by the Madrid defenders and only faced goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, could not bring Chelsea ahead in the 10th minute. Werner’s shot is blocked by Courtois’ right foot.
Werner’s golden opportunity that failed was like a key for Chelsea, that they found a way to open the Madrid defense. And it worked.
Chelsea are increasingly confident in attacking Los Blancos. Chelsea’s attacking flexibility is real. They not only played short passes to get opportunities in the penalty box, but also through the roles of Cesar Azpilicueta and Ben Chilwell.
In the 11th minute, Azpilicueta’s cross could have resulted in a goal had Werner’s right-footed shot arrived just in time. Because Werner was late, Azpilicueta’s efforts were in vain.
As a wingback, Chilwell himself did not serve as a feeder for Werner or Pulisic. On his occasion, the former Everton player could fire a shot which upset the Madrid defense.
Werner, who had failed as the main attacker, did not always push himself. The German striker also knows himself that he can pull back a little to make room for Pulisic up front.
Until finally a big warning for Madrid appeared in the 14th minute after Pulisic scored. Madrid’s high defense from playing three center-backs was missed by Pulisic’s move which received Antonio Rudiger’s pass.
Rudiger’s assist was completed by the former Borussia Dortmund player by outwitting Courtois before shaking the Madrid goal.
Through Pulisic’s goal, Chelsea seemed to signal to Madrid that the 3-5-2 scheme they played was wrong. Los Merengues look uncomfortable with that formation. Marcelo and Dani Carvajal did not look effective in playing the wingback role.
Marcelo can attack into the opponent’s penalty box like an attacking midfielder, but not endanger the Blues.
It was true that Madrid could equalize in the 29th minute after using Eder Militao’s assist. But it must be admitted, it was due to Benzema’s extraordinary experience as a top striker, who was so clinical in front of goal despite being heavily guarded by opposing players.
The stagnation of Real Madrid’s attack in the first leg of this Champions League semi-final is none other than because of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric who seemed to lose their magic in midfield. In addition, the aggressiveness of N’Golo Kante’s movements made Kroos and Modric’s movements not free, especially in controlling the game.
Madrid can get up in the second half and change the formation back to four defenders. However, Madrid still had difficulty withstanding Chelsea’s onslaught.
When the line of attack started to run out of steam, Tuchel still had other sources of attack such as Kai Havertz and Hakim Ziyech.
Madrid seemed to have lost in serving the creativity and speed of Chelsea players. The draw in the first leg was a loss for the Spanish capital club in the hunt for tickets to the Champions League final.
However, looking at the performance on the field, Madrid deserved to be declared lucky with the draw because Chelsea actually played more impressively than the Champions League champions.
The results of the first leg are a big task for Zinedine Zidane and also Real Madrid in the second leg. This season Chelsea have only lost once at home in the Champions League, when they lost 0-1 to FC Porto in the quarter-finals.
However, these results did not affect Chelsea to qualify for the semifinals, because they could win 2-0 at Porto in the first leg to win 2-1 on aggregate.
Zidane can imitate the way Porto pressed Chelsea to win at Stamford Bridge. In the second leg, Porto could make Chelsea’s defense quite depressed, so goalkeeper Edouard Mendy almost made a mistake.
Madrid needs to do the same. When their defensive line or goalkeeper is depressed and makes a blunder, at moments like that, Madrid players can use it as a goal.
In order to match Chelsea’s pace, Madrid need players like Ferland Mendy who are likely to recover at the end of this month.
The presence of Mendy can fill the left side of Madrid’s attack to exploit Chelsea’s defense.
Zidane also needs to make Toni Kroos and Luka Modric more involved compared to the first leg which was like locked down by N’Golo Kante.
With Madrid’s conventional scheme of playing four players behind, three in the middle and three in front, Madrid’s game will be more fluid.
When attacking, the wing attacker usually draws a defender, from which the defensive gaps open. Another pressure can come from the fullback who helps attack.
This position will leave Toni Kroos or Luka Modric slightly open and have room to release accurate passes to players on the other side that are not guarded by the opponent.
Through this situation, Madrid can dominate the game and be more comfortable flowing the ball. When the flow of the game is formed, Vinicius Junior and his friends can usually create goal opportunities.
Another way for Los Merengues to win at Stamford Bridge is a quick and efficient counter-attack. It’s just that Madrid need a solid defense.
In the second leg, Madrid can play captain Sergio Ramos. That way Zidane has more options in the defense sector, although so far the duo of Eder Militao and Raphael Varane have proven to be quite tough in front of Thibaut Courtois.
After being solid defensively, Madrid’s fast players like Vinicius Junior and Mendy only need to wait for Kroos’ pass. This compactness in defense is the key to Porto in the second leg of the quarter-final against Chelsea.
