Welcome to Sportstar’s live blog of the UEFA Champions League 2021-22 quarterfinal first leg clash between Chelsea and Real Madrid being played at the Stamford Bridge in London, England.

This is Neeladri Bhattacharjee bringing you the pre-match buildup minute-by-minute updates of this high-voltage clash.

Half Time

Two goals by Karim Benzema and one late in the first half by Kai Havertz keeps the match well poised at the midway mark

Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid

40′ GOOOOAAAAALLLL!!!!! Havertz makes a run into the penalty box, receives the ball off Jorginho’s cross and buries the ball into the net with his head

Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid

38′ Chance! Chelsea’s corner kick sees Thiago Silva rise to the occasion and head the ball towards the goal, but the header is off target with the ball flying over the net

37′ Chelsea trying to switch the play form the midfield, with Jorhginho to Rudiger and Madrid force the Blues to retreat. Chelsea starts to build form the bacl=k again.

34′ Save! Carvajal hares into the Chelsea box, stops, turns and shoots as Mendy gets the slightest of touches to keep the ball  out of the net

31′ Havertz and James pair up from the midfiled right to teh penalty box, but the final pass is gobbled up by Courtois

30′ Save! Militao heads the ball right on target, but Mendy saves it comfortably

29′ A long ball form the back by Real Madrid is met by Reece James, but the Chelsea defence looks shaky as the header gifts Madrid a corner kick

24′ GOOAAALLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!! Another goaaaalllll from Benzema. Real Madrid progress into the final third. Modric delivers a lovely cross for Benz who heads it home to make it 2-0 for Los Blancos

Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid

21′ GOOOAAAALLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!! Benzema gets the ball in the penalty box and finishes in style to put Real Madrid ahead

Chelsea 0-1 Real Madrid

20′ Rudiger flies the ball form the left for Mason Mount in the penalty box as the Englishman heads at goal. Courtois is there to make a regulation save amidst the boos from fans.

18′ Yellow Card! Militao is back on his feet as Real tries to play form the back and now Rudiger fouls Valverde as the Uruguayan tries to attack on the break and gets a yellow card as a result.

17′ Injury Scare! Militao looks to be in some pain, after getting a knock midmatch and the physios attend to him as a nervous Ancelotti looks on

15′ Save! Reece James takes the free kick that follows and he shoots on target, but Courtois fists the ball away

14′ Yellow Card! Militao tries to stop Havertz as the German steals the ball off him and gets the first booking of the match. He will be missing the next leg.

13′ Chelsea has rushed back to secure the back as Real Madrid’s trio of Vinicius, Benzema and Valverde continue to create chances form the midfield

10′ Off the bar! Vinicius gets the ball form the right, carries the ball along the midfield to the box and shoots. The ball hits the bar. What a chance this!

7′ Warning for Kante! Another foul against Chelsea as Kroos is brought down by Kante and the referee lets the French international off with a verbal warning. Carvajal to Kroos and the ball is passed on to Vinicius, who tries to make a run, but is fouled by Christensen

5′ Kante comes to the rescue! Madrid gets the ball into the final third, but Kante stelas the ball passes to Havertz, who makes a run and goes for goal to shoot off target

3′ Courtois greeted with boos as he receives the ball through a back pass with the Blues’ fans reminding him of his decision to leave for Madrid from this very club

2′ Rudiger tries to make a forward run in the Madrid half, but is thwarted with Casemiro leading the midfield’s holding role

Kick off!

12-25 am: The players are out on the field and the stage is set. Chelsea, which knocked out Real Madrid in the last edition of the tournament is set to face it again and this time at home for the first leg of the quarterfinals.

11-50 pm: FORM: Chelsea comes into the match with four wins in the last five matches with a shock loss to Brentford in its previous match. Real Madrid also has four wins in its last five with a win in its previous match

11-20 pm: Starting Lineups out!

Chelsea Starting XI: Edouard Mendy (GK), Thiago Silva, Antonio Rudiger, Andres Christensen, Cezar Azpilicueta (C), Reece James, Jorginho, Ngolo Kante, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic

Real Madrid Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois (GK), Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba, Ferland Mendy, Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Valverde, Karim Benzema (C), Vinicius Jr

MATCH PREVIEW

Chelsea faces Real Madrid on Wednesday reeling from its heaviest defeat of the season, but Thomas Tuchel’s battle-hardened ability to keep his players focused should ensure the Champions League holder is ready for the latest test of its resilience.

While Saturday’s shock 4-1 home defeat against Brentford was hardly ideal preparation for the quarter-final first leg against Real, Chelsea boss Tuchel has dealt with worse setbacks during a turbulent period for his club.

When Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was sanctioned by the British government for his alleged links with Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine, the Blues were plunged into a financial meltdown that threatened to engulf Tuchel’s team.

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Unable to negotiate new contracts with players due to the sanctions, Chelsea has had to sit by while key defenders Antonio Rudiger, Andreas Christensen and Cesar Azpilicueta considered their futures.

As if that wasn’t potentially distracting enough, fears were mounting that Chelsea might be pushed into administration amid the mayhem triggered by the sanctions.

Restricted on the amount of money they could spend on travel to away games, Tuchel joked he was willing to drive the team bus himself before their Champions League last 16 win at Lille.

Yet, despite the chaos, Tuchel kept his players focused so well that they won six successive matches in all competitions immediately after Abramovich put the club up for sale.

It was a winning streak that underlined Tuchel’s best qualities as he deflected any pressure away from his players with intelligent, empathetic responses to questions about the war in Ukraine and the unintended consequences for Chelsea.

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That made it all the more surprising when Chelsea returned from the international break with such a sloppy display last weekend, as Brentford recovered from Rudiger’s opener to beat their west London neighbours for the first time since 1939.

– ‘Strange events’ –

Aware his players cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves with Real’s visit to Stamford Bridge looming, Tuchel tried to downplay the extent of the Brentford defeat.

“After so many wins and so many good results, I will now refuse to make a drama out of it. Why should we?” he said.

Challenging Chelsea to respond against La Liga leader Real, Tuchel said: “It’s hard to take because it’s very unusual for us what happened. It’s a summary of strange events but it’s on us and it’s our fault.

“We will dig in and try to find out why it was like this. There are some reasons which we can put on us and we will analyse and digest it. There is nothing else.”

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Tuchel might take heart from the parallels to a similar result on the same weekend last season when Chelsea crashed to a 5-2 home defeat against soon to be relegated West Bromwich Albion.

That stunning setback served as a wake-up call for the Blues, who won at Porto in the Champions League quarter-final first leg just days later.

Tuchel’s revitalised team embarked on dominant run that carried it all the way to victory over Manchester City in the Champions League final.

Its hope of an instant response this time may rest on Tuchel’s team selection.

Having left Jorginho, Reece James and Mateo Kovacic on the bench against Brentford, Tuchel is likely to make changes for the Real showdown.

“We selected the team because we thought it was the best team against Brentford,” Tuchel said.

“There was not half an eye or one per cent on Real Madrid. This was our fault and we have to analyse it quickly.”

(via AFP)

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