Real Madrid beat Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals this season in what will be the greatest showdown in the history of the tournament. Thanks to Karim Benzema's brilliant hat-trick, Real Madrid won the first leg 3-1 at Stamford Bridge, but Chelsea scored a thrilling equaliser in the second leg at the Bernabeu. Trailing 3-0 on Tuesday night, Real Madrid took the game into extra time with Rodrigo's final-minute goal. Benzema proved himself a hero in extra time, helping Madrid win 5-4 at home. Although the game has passed, the problem of retaining two big teams still needs to be faced and solved.
Luka Modric is 37 years old this year, but he showed once again in this game that he is still one of the best midfielders in the world. The timeless organising core dominated the first leg in London, where he proved his decisiveness at a time when the situation was working against the home team. Shortly after falling behind 3-0 and 3-4 on aggregate that night, the Croatia international sent a brilliant cross to help Rodrigo volley the crucial goal. Modric's contract expires at the end of the season and while both players and clubs are looking to renew their contracts and will sit down calmly in May, Real Madrid have made it clear what the midfield master is worth to the team.
Benzema showed in this game that he is now arguably the best striker in world football, even better than Lewandowski. Benzema scored four of Real Madrid's five goals in two legs, including a devastating hat-trick at Stamford Bridge. His first two goals in West London were not actually great opportunities, and he scored the decisive one in extra time. Benzema scored 38 goals in 38 games for Real Madrid in 2021-22 – plus assists– and the Frenchman has already scored more than 50 goals. When Madrid already have the perfect No. 9, it doesn't seem wise to spend more than €300 million on transfer fees, salaries and commissions for an increasingly injured Haaland.
As mentioned above, Benzema ultimately determined the outcome of Chelsea's victory and exit in this game. Had Benzema been wearing a Chelsea shirt at the time, the Blues would have easily advanced to the next round. When Chelsea bought Romelu Lukaku for 115 million euros last summer, he was meant to fill the void in their No. 9 position and provide them with a prolific world-class striker. Lukaku proved to be a disaster and the club had abandoned him. He didn't start in either game, coming off the bench in the first leg, while in Madrid he didn't play at all. Chelsea have missed too many attacking opportunities in these two games – simply put, they still haven't found the right striker.
Rudiger's contract expires in the summer and it seems unlikely that he will renew his contract given the ownership situation at the club. It's a huge concern for Chelsea, who will also be losing Torre Christensen, who appears to have confirmed a free transfer to Barcelona. Since Tuchel took over in January 2021, Rudiger appears to be Chelsea's best player of this period. Over the next 12 months, he played at a world-class level. But the mistakes Rudiger made in his experience at Roma and in his career at Chelsea under Lampard have made a comeback in the past few months, especially against Real Madrid. His mistakes fulfilled Karim Benzema's hat-trick in London, and he remained unstable in the 180-minute game – although he also scored. After a hot season, is he now back to normal?
Rudiger's sudden downturn will also make Real Madrid worried. Real Madrid's first priority in the summer transfer market should be to sign at least one good centre-back. With the exception of Militan and David Alaba, Madrid's other centre-backs are not up to the level of playing against the best players. In the match against Chelsea, Militang missed the game. Nacho struggled in his place and Real Madrid ended up with Lucas Vazquez (right-back, Marcelo at left-back, Carvajal pairing Alaba at centre-back). Such a defensive line does not win the Champions League – Real Madrid were lucky that Chelsea did not let them pay a bigger price.