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After losing to Real Madrid 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea left themselves a mountain to climb heading into the second leg of their Champions League tie Tuesday (3 p.m. ET | CBS and Paramount+). The Blues were downed by an excellent performance from Karim Benzema, whose hat trick saw Real through to victory. Chelsea were only able to score one goal which came from Kai Havertz despite producing a ton of chances and ripping off 20 shots on the night.
A stellar performance from former Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois and a César Azpilicueta shot that hit the bar are the only reasons why the tie isn’t closer. While Thomas Tuchel asserted that the tie was over after the first leg, it seems like the team took that as a message to improve, thrashing Southampton 6-0 over the weekend.
Mason Mount and Timo Werner were central to the Chelsea show and they’ll likely need to show up again for Chelsea to have a chance at the Santiago Bernabéu. Below you’ll find three things the Blues need in their favor to pull off a comeback against Los Blancos.
1. Possession is the best defense
We all know how dangerous Real Madrid’s attack can be, especially at home. Vinicius Junior carved holes through the defense with balls over the top and Benzema didn’t need much to score thrice. That’s why letting Real Madrid have the ball at all is a bad idea. It may seem counterproductive to play a patient possession game in hopes of pouncing at mistakes, that’s especially true when you need at least two goals to force extra time.
It’s also worth pointing out just how vulnerable Real can be on the defensive end. They’re second-worst in La Liga with 11 defensive errors leading to a shot. Only four of those errors have turned into a goal, and that’s probably because Courtois has been a monster and has been able to prevent goals at an astounding rate. Chelsea showed that they can produce chances against this Real Madrid…
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Source : cbssports
