Real Madrid managed to stay in the game against Chelsea despite a nightmare start in which they conceded three shots on target and one goal in the first 15 minutes. They found a first-half equalizer, courtesy of superstar striker Karim Benzema, and held on firmly in the second half despite being clearly hobbled.
It will all come down to the second leg at Stamford Bridge. Until then, let’s take a look at five takeaways from the 1-1 result at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.
Real Madrid were not up to it
Simply put, this was another poor performance from Real Madrid. After drawing Real Betis this weekend in an uninspiring night at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Los Blancos were equally weak for much of the first leg against Chelsea.
Real Madrid’s pressing scheme was poor. It was disorganized, ineffective, and way too easy for Chelsea to play through during the first 45 minutes. Los Blancos were, therefore, extremely lucky not to have conceded more than once.
On top of that, the midfielders were all less effective than usual. Casemiro looked out of sorts, Luka Modric is clearly gassed, and Toni Kroos was not able to control the match like he usually does due to an injury he is playing through.
The result was a lackluster performance from Real Madrid. And the fact that no attacker besides Benzema stepped up sealed the fact that they were never going to score more than once.