Chelsea arrived at their first Champions League last since 2012 as goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount got a 2-0 victory over Real Madrid in their semifinal second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to win the tie 3-1 on total.
Their away goal in Madrid had given Chelsea a narrow advantage heading into the return, and they missed a host of chances that would have given them a lot more wider margin of victory.
Madrid, who welcomed back captain Sergio Ramos, controlled possession from the opening shot without making an opportunity of note.
Werner ought to have given Chelsea the lead on 18 minutes when he tapped home from Ben Chilwell’s cross yet was offside when he didn’t should be.
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy pulled off a brilliant save to deny Karim Benzema when he figured out how to get a shot off from the edge of the crate.
What’s more, Chelsea were ahead on 28 minutes when Kai Havertz, played in by N’Golo Kante, saw his dinked exertion over Thibaut Courtois bounce back off the bar and Werner was first to the bounce back to head home from short proximity.
Minutes after the fact, Benzema again constrained Mendy into a decent save with a header following some great play by Luka Modric.
Madrid, record champs of the opposition with 13, attempted to set out any further open doors and it was Chelsea who begun the second half more grounded with Havertz again hitting the bar.
Los Blancos manager Zinedine Zidane gave Eden Hazard a beginning on a re-visitation of his previous club, however the Belgium global looked route shy of match wellness and littly affected the challenge.
Zidane said after the match: “With continuity, Eden has to play, to regain his confidence, playing, little by little. It’s his second start in a row; we have to get Eden back by playing.”
Thomas Tuchel’s side kept on making chances with Mason Mount and Kante blameworthy of awful misses, while Christian Pulisic – who went ahead for Werner on 67 minutes – streaked a decent ball across the container that Havertz neglected to get on the finish of.
However, with five minutes remaining, Pulisic kept his cool when played through and passed a ball to Mount, who crushed the ball home from short proximity.
“We deserved to win. The first half was difficult; they had a lot of possession and made us suffer,” Tuchel said.
“In the second half, we could have scored so much earlier, so much more to be safe, but now is no time for criticism. It is a fantastic achievement and big congratulations to the team.
“It is not done yet. We want to go all the way; we arrive in Istanbul to win.”
Madrid midfielder Casemiro said his side’s terrible display served to underline what an amazing accomplishment winning the competition three seasons straight is, as they accomplished from 2016 to 2018.
“Today showed that what we did [by winning it before] was historic,” he said. “It isn’t easy to win the Champions League. Every game is difficult. Today showed once again that it isn’t easy to win it.”
The outcome implies Chelsea have become the main club to have both the people’s side arrive at the Champions League last, after Emma Hayes’ side beat Bayern Munich in their elimination round on Sunday to set up a confrontation with Barcelona.
Chelsea’s men’s group will confront Manchester City in Istanbul on May 29 in a second all-English Champions League last in two seasons.
Zidane, who was left protecting his strategies after the match, additionally said: “I think the framework was clear: We played with three at the back and two wing-backs. We’ve played a great deal of games that way. It didn’t end up great – we lost a ton of duels. We needed something, indeed, yet we attempted, and that is football.
“The players who played were OK to play. At the end of the game, we lacked some gas. Vinicius played two games there. I remember against Getafe — he’s a player who can do it.”