Madrid (AFP)
Zinédine Zidane's Real Madrid were put in difficulty by Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea but could count on a miraculous Karim Benzema to get out of a thorny situation and hang the draw (1-1) on Tuesday in the semi-final first leg of Champions League.
In full doubt: a week after the aborted European Super League project of which Real Madrid was one of the instigators, the Madrilenians conceded a goal and a draw on their lawn Tuesday night ... and will approach the return match with pressure of a mandatory result to secure a ticket for the final.
Did Zidane make the right choices?
The wall of the "White House" gave way in the 14th minute on a superb opening by Antonio Rüdiger for Christian Pulisic, who dribbled Thibaut Courtois in the box before concluding, but it was already the third clear opportunity for the men of Thomas Tuchel.
Fortunately for "Zizou", his lonely savior Benzema, excellent since his return in early March, snatched the draw with a sublime goal in the 29th.
- Feverish white curtain -
But the Marseille technician is not exempt from all reproach: he did not confess his tactical sins and did not make changes at half-time, although the tactical errors of his men were glaring from the start. begins.
While "Zizou" had opted for a three-center defense, Nacho, Raphaël Varane and Eder Militao tended to back down together without daring to go up to put pressure on the "Blues" attackers, and left them too much scope to attack Courtois' cage ... In the absence of the usual captain Sergio Ramos (affected in the left calf and positive for Covid-19), who vibrated as much as his teammates in the stands of the small Alfredo di Stéfano stadium.
And by passing especially through the corridor of Vinicius, Marcelo and Nacho, Chelsea enjoyed themselves: the Londoners multiplied the offensives, projecting themselves quickly thanks to an impeccable exit of the ball, orchestrated by a still irreproachable N'Golo Kanté, multiplying the good placements and judicious races.
- Benzema, bright -
In the middle of the heavy rain showers that punctuated the meeting, a gesture illuminated the Madrid evening: in the 29th minute, Karim Benzema controlled with his head a ball deflected in front of him in the area, then followed with an instant recovery of the right which left Edouard Mendy in place.
A goal that allowed the French center-forward, in top form since mid-March, to equal the legend Raul as the 4th top scorer in the history of the Champions League with 71 goals, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (135), Lionel Messi (120) and Robert Lewandowski (73).
And five months after his last match in C1 (2-0 success on Inter Milan's lawn on November 25, 2020), Eden Hazard has also seen the light: after treating his right groin injury, after s '' to be trained for almost a month without playing, and after playing a quarter of an hour at the end of the match on Saturday against Betis Sevilla in Liga (0-0), the Belgian star came into play in place of Vinicius at the 66th, without shining.
Thomas Tuchel, for his part returns to London with one certainty: his three-way defense, although not so hermetic, holds up well against a team of the caliber of Real Madrid, and his offensive animation has the arguments to cast doubt on the feverish curtain White.
And she will have to repeat this performance and even do better in the return match on May 5, to bring down the indomitable Real de Zidane and snag an unexpected ticket to the Champions League final.
© 2021 AFP