Real Madrid 2 Chelsea 0 LIVE RESULT: Benzema and Asensio give Los Blancos the advantage in Champions League – reaction
CHELSEA have given themselves it all to do in the second leg following their 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema tapped in to give Carlo Ancelotti's side the lead in the Spanish capital with just 20 minutes on the clock.
Things got worse for Chelsea as Ben Chilwell was dismissed for dragging down Rodrygo who was through on goal.
Marco Asensio came off the bench to give Real Madrid a TWO goal advantage going into the second leg at Stamford Bridge.
- Match Result: Real Madrid 2-0 Chelsea
- Real Madrid XI: Courtois, Caravajal, Militao, Alaba, Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos, Modric, Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, Benzema
- Chelsea XI: Kepa, James, Fofana, Thiago Silva, Koulibaly, Chilwell, Kante, Kovacic, Fernandez, Sterling, Felix
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Buzzing atmosphere
The crowd is well and truly bringing the noise here tonight.
Real fans are belting out songs and both teams look fired up.
Frank Lampard and Carlo Ancelotti share a warm embrace on the touchline.
Kick-off is almost here!
Time to shine
Kick-off is almost here.
The teams are getting ready to enter the tunnel and come out onto the pitch.
Then, the iconic Champions League theme will play.
Who doesn't get goosebumps on a night like this?
Credit: Reuters 
Credit: EPA More live action - Milan vs Napoli
There is another Champions League match tonight for those interested.
Italian heavyweights AC Milan and Napoli are battling it out at the San Siro.
Defending champs Milan recently thrashed runaway Serie A leaders Napoli 4-0 in the league.
And the visitors are again without star striker Victor Osimhen.
The heat is on
Chelsea players are being put through their paces by coaches Joe Edwards and Ashley Cole, who returned to the club with Lampard.
It now remains to be seen whether they can see their plan through successfully.
But there are plenty of options on the bench, including Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Conor Gallagher.
Credit: AFP 
Credit: Reuters 
Credit: AFP Lampard hoping for Euro fortunes
Frank Lampard reckons the Champions League can give Chelsea a chance to save their season after a dismal domestic showing.
He said: "The Premier League is one of the greatest challenges in world football, and those challenges have obviously taken us to a place we don't want to be as Chelsea.
"I think the Champions League sometimes offers you a bit of escapism from that - a different speed of game, knockout football, those things can all contribute to getting different success in the same season.
"There's pressure on both teams due to the size of both clubs. Are Real Madrid favourites? Yes. [But] there's no better carrot in football than trying to prove people wrong.
"I think that's a nice challenge for us. I'm not worried about that, in terms of pressure. Football at this level is pressure and if you can't handle it, you're not a big club or big player."
Eyes on the prize
This is what it's all about. This gorgeous, glittering, gleaming trophy.
Real Madrid are the current holders of the Champions League.
And they've won it an incredible 14 times.
As for Chelsea, they've tasted success in the competition twice... with their last win coming just two years ago.
Credit: Getty Time to get warm
Both teams are out on the pitch for their warm-up.
The Bernabeu is already filling up nicely ahead of the 8pm kick-off.
A sell-out crowd of 81,000 should be in place by then.
And the atmosphere is set to be positively raucous.
Boehly's positive message for fans
Todd Boehly is feeling confident over Chelsea's chances tonight.
After spending over £600million does he have any other choice?
Boehly said: "I say have a lot of faith, and we're going to win 3-0 tonight.
"We look at this as a very long-term process and we have a lot of work to do, and we're excited about the future.
"The future is bright and we're excited about tonight."
Benzema ready to run the show
Karim Benzema tormented Chelsea last season.
And the Frenchman will be hoping to take centre stage yet again.
Lampard speaks pre-match
“Life is strange but I can’t say I’m disappointed. I’m delighted to be here.
“It was a big surprise, I didn’t expect it, it happened the day after Liverpool.
“It was an easy decision for me, the ties are so close, I’ve been here before as a coach. I know the squad, I know what the fans want.
"I was sitting in my front room watching Netflix in my shorts and t-shirt when I got the call!"
Credit: Getty Grand reunion for Real trio
Real Madrid boast no less than three ex-Chelsea players in their squad.
But just one makes the starting XI tonight.
Thibaut Courtois is between the sticks for Real as he seeks to keep the Blues at bay.
Meanwhile, Antonio Rudiger and Eden Hazard have to settle for spots on the bench against their old club.
Can Joao wow the crowd?
Joao Felix leads the line tonight for Chelsea.
Has he done enough so far to justify a big-money permanent move from Atletico Madrid this summer?
Ancelotti cools Chelsea return talks
Carlo Ancelotti has been linked with a stunning return to the Bridge.
But he is adamant he will remain at Real Madrid this summer.
Ancelotti said: "Be back? No, I hope that Lampard is able to do a fantastic job with them.
"I have a fantastic memory of Chelsea. I am a supporter of the club. I won’t return there."
Chelsea's starting XI confirmed
Frank Lampard has released his team to face Real Madrid.
And Thiago Silva is indeed back in the side after returning from injury.
N'Golo Kante and Raheem Sterling are also included, with Kai Havertz dropping out for a 3-5-2 formation.
Chelsea: Kepa; Fofana, Silva, Koulibaly; James, Kante, Enzo, Kovacic, Chilwell; Felix, Sterling
Gallas dismisses Chelsea chances
Former Chelsea star William Gallas reckons his old side don't stand a chance against Real Madrid tonight.
He told : "Chelsea are not doing too well at the moment, they are not performing for many reasons. But in the Champions League, they have performed very well.
"Now they play Real Madrid, who are in the same situation because they cannot win La Liga. So they will put everything into the Champions League.
"I don’t think Chelsea will qualify from the tie. I don’t think it will be a heavy defeat, but even if they win at Stamford Bridge, going away to Real Madrid will be really hard."
Silva set for stunning return?
Thiago Silva could start tonight in a stunning return from injury.
The Brazilian has been out for six weeks on the sideline.
But early Chelsea team news on social media claims Silva has gone straight into the starting XI.
Lampard on Chelsea's chances
"I didn't expect to solve everything in one day [after defeat to Wolves].
"You have to have more aggression in your game, more speed and more competitive duels which go your way.
"The players need to be aware of that because without that you can't win games.
"It was interesting to see anyway, I'm here to help with that. It's not stinging criticism, I know there's a lot of talent there."
Chelsea team news and predicted line-up
For the Blues, the match is set to come too soon for Mason Mount, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta.
N'Golo Kante was surprisingly missing from Lampard's first squad after coming back from injury the week before, but it was a precautionary decision.
Quartet Benoit Badiashile, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Noni Madueke and David Datro Fofana are not in the team's Champions League squad.
What are the odds?
- Real Madrid to win - 8/13
- Draw - 14/5
- Chelsea to win - 9/2
To qualify:
- Real Madrid to qualify - 4/9
- Chelsea to win - 13/8
*Odds courtesy of are correct at time of publication
On the last episode
Controversy, drama, suspense - you name it, the last match between Real Madrid and Chelsea had it and what a game it was!
The Blues had a mountain to climb after losing the first leg 3-1 at Stamford Bridge but goals from Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner miraculously put them in the driver's seat of the tie.
However, Madrid did what they do best by scoring two late goals through Rodrygo and Balon d'Or winner Karim Benzema which saw Thomas Tuchel's men go crashing out of the competition.
Chelsea will be determined to get revenge this time around and they'll be hoping that super Frank Lampard can be the man to steer them to victory.
But it won't be easy as Madrid just have that know-how to get the job done.
Madrid bench
Lunin, Luis Lopez, Vallejo, Nacho, Hazard, Asensio, Odriozola, Lucas V., Tchouameni, Ceballos, Rudiger, Mariano.
Madrid starting eleven
Big time Benzema
It is hard to look away from the duo of Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr, who tore apart Liverpool at Anfield in the last round.
Both bagged a double in the 5-2 win two months ago at Anfield, with Benzema scoring the only goal of the game in the second game in Spain.
Fantastic Felix
Chelsea will be hoping Joao Felix will be the key to turning the tie in their favour.
The man on loan from Atletico Madrid should have extra motivation to beat his club's city rivals and he has impressed in recent weeks.
What TV channel is it on and can it be live streamed?
- Real Madrid vs Chelsea will be broadcast LIVE on BT Sport 1 in the UK.
- Coverage is set to commence from 7pm UK time - a whole hour before kick-off.
- Subscription members of BT Sport can stream the entire action live via the or BT Sport app.
- Alternatively, SunSport will have minute-by-minute coverage of the game including build-up and post-match reaction.