Tuesday, October 8, 2024
spot_img

Chelsea set up semis clash with Barcelona

Date:

Share post:

spot_img
spot_img

LONDON: Chelsea survived a nervous finale against 10-man Benfica to earn a 2-1 win in the Champions League quarterfinal second leg and set up a last-four showdown with holders Barcelona. Real Madrid too qualified for the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 5-2 win over Cypriot side APOEL Nicosia

The win Wednesday gave Madrid an overall 8-2 aggregate triumph following their 3-0 win in Cyrpus last week and means they will now face Bayern Munich for a place in the final.

Bayern will be the first side from any of Europe’s top four leagues (England, Spain, Italy and Germany) that Madrid have faced in Europe this season, Xinhua reported.

With the tie virtually resolved last week, Madrid coach Jose Mourinho resisted the temptation to rest key many players, although Xabi Alonso, Karim Bezema and Mesut Ozil all began the game on the bench.

Madrid enjoyed over 70 percent of possession but failed to open the scoring against their rivals, who spent most of the time camped deep in their own half, until the 26th minute when Ronaldo followed in on the far post to finish a Marcelo cross.

Kaka added the second ten minutes later with a magnificent curling shot into the top corner of the net and before the break he was unlucky to see another shot rebound off the post.

The second half saw Madird sit back slightly and APOEL scored a consolation goal from Gustavo Manduca after 66 minutes. That sparked a reaction from Madrid and Ronaldo scored his second of the night with a curling free kick and Javier Callejon added a fourth, shortly after coming on as substitute.

APOEL scored a second from the penalty spot thanks to Esteban Solari, whose brother Santiago had played for Real the last time they lifted the Champions League.

Angel de Maria continued his recovery from a hamstring problem and rounded off the scoring with a lovely chip to send the Madrid fans home happy.

Meanwhile, Chelsea ground out a 2-1 win over Benfica at home and took the overall aggregate to 3-1 in their favour. Though it was not all plain sailing for the men in Blue, Benfica held most of the possession and were the better side on the day.

Frank Lampard opened the scoring from the spot kick for the London club much against the play after Ashley Cole was brought down in the box. Benfica attacked Chelsea with great vigour but to their frustration were not able to find the equaliser. The Portuguese club were then dealt a body blow when defender Maxi Pereira was sent off five minutes before half time.

Chelsea missed a few sitters and should have easily doubled their lead. The Londoners were made to pay for their missed chances when Javi Garcia headed in the equaliser in the 85th minute.

With 10 men Benfica searched for their second which would have put them in the last four but in stoppage time, substitute Raul Meireles sealed the win for Chelsea with a cracking shot from outside the box. (Agencies)

spot_img
spot_img

Related articles

MFA announces Meghalaya Youth League semis line-up

Shillong, Oct 7: After tremendously exciting quarterfinals, the semifinalists of the inaugural Meghalaya Youth League 2024 were confirmed...

Masood, Shafique centuries lead Pak to 328-4 on Day 1

Multan, Oct 7: Captain Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique hit centuries as Pakistan dominated Day 1 of the...

‘They might stab you in the back’: Drake warns people about fake friends

Famous rapper Drake talked about fake friends and warned people to stay away from them as they may...

World Watch

Russian court sentences 72-yr-old for fighting in Ukraine Moscow, Oct 7: A Russian court on Monday sentenced a 72-year-old...