With millions of eyes on the Santiago Bernabéu, Real Madrid stepped up and ignored any script by sweeping Chelsea away 2-0 and getting a result that sets up their season for a grand stand finish.
All the talk was before kick-off was about Chelsea and the spirit of 2012, when they upset the odds to win the Champions League by beating Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
They are a club used to channelling external chaos towards a singular goal, and Madrid had no interest in anyone’s destiny but their own.
This is because all the pressure was on Carlo Ancelotti and his team to deliver, as their season depends on a successful Champions League campaign.
While this is happening, two other trophies are in the Santiago Bernabéu and the team is awaiting on the 2023 Copa del Rey final after beating Barcelona 4-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals.
But, they trail the Catalans by 13 points in La Liga meaning that a truly successful season now hinges on winning the two remaining cup competitions.
Benzema Gives Madrid The Lead Against Chelsea
Madrid take the lead thanks to a sumptuous ball over the top from Dani Carvajal 🔥
Watch every UEFA Champions League Game for free on the LiveScore app*. *Registered ROI users only. #Adpic.twitter.com/0vmsyl4mV9— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 12, 2023
Prior to all of this, there was talk of a sextuple after Real defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in the UFEA Super Cup final.
Toni Kroos fuelled these conversations when speaking to Real Madrid TV at the start of the season."I hope we fight for all the titles," he said.
"At Real Madrid you want to win every competition you play in, although it's not always possible."There are a lot of titles at stake and anyone who knows us knows that we will fight for all of them.”
Ancelotti was plagued with questions about this before the Supercopa de España final, and he delivered a pointed response to those present.
That’s not on our minds. We only concern ourselves with battling in every competition and every match. Right now, we are only thinking about this trophy, the Super Cup.
That’s what we should do, not be thinking about something that is incredibly difficult, or very complicated. We have to take one step at a time until we reach the end of the season.
They lost 3-1 to Barcelona and a few weeks later the Catalans beat them 2-1 in the league. The sextuple was over in just a matter of weeks and Real were left with just the Champions League and Copa Del Rey to focus on.
Madrid is a city where success is measured in absolutes and anything less is all but paltry in comparison. Ancelotti can personally attest to this as his first stint in Madrid ended the year Barcelona blew everyone away with a front three of Messi, Neymar, and Suarez.
Careless From Chillwell
Taxi for Chilly 🚕
Watch every UEFA Champions League Game for free on the LiveScore app*. *Registered ROI users only. #Adpic.twitter.com/9HdctaVI8z— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 12, 2023
READ HERE: Bayern Munich Win Will Be A Form Of Retribution For Man City's Pep Guardiola
He departed having lifted just two trophies during the 2014-15 season, and that wasn’t enough.The coach is in a similar situation right now, having already lifted the Super Cup and Club World Cup this year.
The Chelsea game could have been an ambush but they navigated the fixture flawlessly after a rough start.Frank Lampard played a compact 3-5-2 that became a 5-3-2 in defence and they managed to catch Madrid out with a number of balls over the top in the first half.
João Félix almost scored inside the opening two minutes and Raheem Sterling nearly managed a run into the penalty area after combining with Kante on the right.
Then a ball over the top was knocked down by Vinícius Júnior and Karim Benzema was there to turn it in.
Cool Finish From Asensio
Classy finish from Asensio, Kroos-esque 🙌
Tie over for Chelsea?
Watch every UEFA Champions League Game for free on the LiveScore app*. *Registered ROI users only. #Adpic.twitter.com/J9yp6cFDqf— Balls.ie (@ballsdotie) April 12, 2023
Whatever about the start of the game not going their way, Madrid did what they did best and found a way. Asensio wrapped things up by driving the ball into the bottom corner from outside the area with just 17 minutes left.
As they celebrated, the relief was noticeable on the squad and the manager. Even though there’s still another 90 minutes to be played, Madrid have one leg in the Champions League semi-finals.
They are not at their destination yet, there’s still a lot more football to be played, but Madrid took a massive step towards a 15th title on Wednesday night at the Santiago Bernabéu.
SEE ALSO: Pep Guardiola Says He Was 'Emotionally Damaged' By Bayern Victory
