UCL: Chelsea Outclass Real Madrid To Set Up All-English Final With Man City

Chelsea set up an all-English final with Manchester City in the Champions League after beating Real Madrid 2-0 at Stamford Bridge to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.

Timo Werner’s first-half opener was capped by Mason Mount’s late second, and the Blues should have won by even more if they’d been more clinical.

Thomas Tuchel’s side dominated proceedings against the competition’s record winners with Werner and Kai Harvetz guilty of glaring misses but the Blues’ profligacy went unpunished as they booked their trip to Istanbul for the final on 29 May.

Werner nodded Chelsea ahead in the 28th minute after Kai Havertz’s chip over Thibaut Courtois rebounded off the crossbar. The German forward had a goal ruled out for offside early on, before Karim Benzema twice tested Édouard Mendy at the other end.

The hosts spurned a number of second-half chances to double their lead, with Havertz hitting the bar with a header and Mount lifted his shot over the bar when through one-on-one against Courtois. Havertz and Kanté were denied by the Real Madrid keeper as Chelsea repeatedly opened up the visiting defence.

A Real Madrid equaliser would have forced extra time but Real Madrid barely made a dent in attack, and Tuchel’s side in the final was sealed when Mount turned home Christian Pulisic’s cut-back with five minutes to go.

Tuchel becomes the first manager to reach consecutive Champions League finals with two different clubs after leading PSG to the final last year, a stat he shares with defender Thiago Silva who also made the final with the French side last year.

It proved to be an unhappy visit to Stamford Bridge for former Chelsea stalwarts Eden Hazard and Thibaut Courtouis and Real boss Zinedine Zidane will now focus on retaining LaLiga after suffering a first ever defeat in the semifinals of a competition he won thrice on the trot.