The first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals round played on Wednesday recorded two red cards in the two fixtures as the games ended as most pundits predicted.
Chelsea went into the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals against Real Madrid as the underdogs due to their poor run of games especially in the Premier League.
The fact that they just changed from Graham Potter who qualified them for the round to Frank Lampard who was recently sacked by Everton due to a poor run of games confirmed the crisis at the West London club.
In their sojourn at the Bernabeu, Karim Benzema used the Premier League club to score his 90th Champions League goal in the 21st minute of the game.
Afterward, it became a nearly even game as the hosts tried to double their lead all to no avail until the first half ended.
Before things became worse for the visitors, Thibaut Courtois came to the rescue of Madrid when he stepped up to stop Joao Felix’s effort. Also, Raheem Sterling was close to scoring but Courtois produced a diving save to prevent that from happening.
While Chelsea were trying to prevent more damage, the club received the biggest blow in the second half when English defender Ben Chilwell received a red card in the 59th minute for fouling Rodrygo who was goal-bound.
Despite playing a man-down, Chelsea tried to get back into the game but their hopes were dashed when Marco Asensio doubled Madrid’s lead in the 74th minute.
Now, the Premier League side are condemned to beat Real Madrid 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on April 18 when the Spanish giants come for the return leg.
Napoli have work to do at Home
Like Chelsea, Napoli struggled to beat or get a point against AC Milan at San Siro as they finished the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals round with a man down.
Napoli who went into the game without their talisman Victor Osimhen due to a muscle injury lost Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa in the second half of the game after receiving a red card in the 74th minute.
Before then, Ismael Bennacer gave AC Milan the lead in the 40th minute to make the game more difficult for their visitors. The Algerian midfielder got the goal after breaking free from the halfway line and slotting in the goal from the edge of the penalty box.
Napoli’s best chance in the game came when Simon Kjaer’s header bounced off the underside of the bar. Unfortunately, that was the closest they came to scoring as they left San Siro with a 1-0 defeat.
As it stands, Napoli will be hoping that Osimhen is fit enough before the return leg at the Maradona stadium on April 18.
