Direct Narration and statistics
The rainstorm was not the worst that fell on Madrid. The worrying agucaero was football, a total football staged by the cover of this Champions. If Zidane's team is not, today, a ship that threatens to wreck on the way to London, it is due to the lack of definition of the Chelsea attackers, the foot of
Courtois
, which is already like the incorrupt arm of Santa Teresa, and the a thousand faces of Benzema, one day a dancer, another a contortionist. The Frenchman's goal (1-1) is the drop of hope in the middle of the deluge that flooded the path of the Fourteenth.
Not even the temperance of the good host was granted by Chelsea, who entered Valdebebas with a flamethrower. They weren't pushing, it was a game at an intensity and speed unattainable for
Zidane's
footballers
. Those of
Tuchel
were simply going at a different speed, so much so that there was no time to be suspicious and look at the referee, supporter of follow, follow ... Madrid was not capable of winning at all, only in the personal duels between
Werner
and
Courtois
.
Pulisic
and
Mount
Instead, they were indecipherable in all three quarters. The former runs like no other in the open field or in short distances, as he did when dodging white defenders in the area in the first goal. The second thinks and plays like few others, he is a chosen one. The two participated in the first arrival, which the German striker finished off in the small area. Courtois' foot avoided the goal, but the action presented a poisoned tendency for Madrid. Zidane knew what was happening, but he felt incapable of avoiding it, at the mercy of fate.
The Madrid coach had decided to form with three centrals to give Madrid more projection by bands, with
Marcelo
and
Carvajal
, and add troops in the center of the field. For this, however, it is necessary to have the ball, and the white team did not have it. Without possession, then, the problems came with the defensive adjustments.
Militao
was the only one capable of responding to individual duels. The forgotten defender ended up a titan. All the others were lost by white footballers, with little prominence from key players, such as
Modric
,
Casemiro
or
Kroos
. In the media, the owner was
Kanté
, a player who makes others fly with his short steps.
Rüdiger
, an exuberant center-back, with excellent ball delivery, joined in the deliveries to the spaces where Pulisic or Werner run, as happened on the first occasion.
Blue Tactical Superiority
Chelsea, rebuilt in a few months by Tuchel after his dismissal from PSG, is not, however, a team solely for the contra.
Nothing of that.
He knows how to command and manage possession, but what he really likes is throwing himself into space.
Simeone
already suffered
, one of the coaches who best hides them, and already knows the difficulties ZZ, who always has the alibi of casualties, although the differences were due to something more than absences. Madrid was clearly outperformed physically and tactically, two facets that belong to the work of a coach. In pure talent, it can be said that the Madridistas won, if one compares what they achieved in proportion to offensive production. Up to five clear arrivals had Chelsea in the first half for a goal. Madrid achieved the same fruit with two, both by Benzema, a shot to the post and an acrobatic shot in
Mendy's
cave
. The action could not come from continuity, because Madrid did not have it, but from a set piece.
Casemiro
he turned inwards, with a controversial support on the defender, combed Militao and burst Benzema. An unexpected equalizer to which the storm joined, this time real, to slow down the game, a speed in which Madrid could handle better. The slower pace equaled the dominance in the second half, without so many scares.
Zidane sent for
Hazard
to take Vinicius off the pitch, practically unprecedented. The Brazilian should have tried more overflow on
Azpilicueta
, one of Chelsea's three center-backs. In such circumstances, it is necessary to rush the individual options, but the Brazilian hardly had them. Shortly after, he withdrew Carvajal and Marcelo to give entry to
Asensio
and return to the line of four defenders with the slogan not to lose the ball.
Tuchel, for his part, had more resources, and replaced good pieces with others of the same level, or almost better, when
Ziyech
entered
, a dagger, and
Havertz
, two of the great signings that started on the bench.
That says a lot about the potential of this team.
Werner left the field fought with the goal.
The teams looked at each other rather than harassed each other.
Chelsea guarded its treasure and Madrid guarded its fear, waiting for the sun to rise or turn on the Benzema lighthouse at Stamford Bridge, on the second leg of the semifinal.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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