Football

Chelsea vs Real Madrid Player Ratings: Rodrygo lights up the Bridge

April 18, 2023 10:14 pm
Chelsea vs Real Madrid Player Ratings: Rodrygo lights up the Bridge
Real Madrid's Rodrygo celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game with team-mates during the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg match at Stamford Bridge, London. Picture date: Tuesday April 18, 2023. - Photo by Icon sport

  • Two goals from Rodrygo send Real Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-0 aggregate win.
  • Chelsea started the game brightly and had several chances to score the opening goal on the night.
  • Los Blancos will face Bayern Munich or Manchester City in the last four.

Chelsea Player Ratings: Kante rues missed chances

Kepa Arrizabalaga 6/10 – Couldn’t do anything for either goal and distributed the ball well throughout.

Reece James 7/10 – Was good going forward early on and was arguably Chelsea’s best player on the night. Kept Vinicius relatively quiet at the other end, too.

Trevor Chalobah 4/10 – Looked out of his depth at this level and was far too rash for Real Madrid’s opener.

Thiago Silva 6/10 – Was as solid as ever and didn’t do an awful lot wrong for either goal.

Wesley Fofana 6/10 – A much improved performance after his shocker at the Bernabeu last week.

Marc Cucurella 6/10 – One of his better performances in a Chelsea shirt, particularly going forward.

Ngolo Kante 5/10 – Worked hard in midfield but missed two massive chances to give Chelsea the lead in the match. Things could have played out differently if one of them had gone in.

Enzo Fernandez 7/10 – Didn’t look out of place against Kroos and Modric in midfield. Will only get better.

Mateo Kovacic 6/10 – Worked hard but lacked a bit of quality.

Conor Gallagher 4/10 – Another Chelsea player who is out of his depth at this level. May well be his last ever Champions League appearance.

Kai Havertz 5/10 – Overcame injury doubts to play and showed some nice touches but Chelsea were always going to struggle to score more than two goals tonight with him as their main striker.

Subtitutes

Joao Felix 6/10 – Looked bright but snatched a the few openings he got.

Raheem Sterling 5/10 – Failed to make an impact.

Mykhailo Mudryk – Failed to make an impact.

Mason Mount – Came on too late to make an impact.

Real Madrid Player Ratings: Rodrygo the star man for Los Blancos

Thibaut Courtois 7/10 – Was as commanding as ever on his return to Stamford Bridge. Arguably the best goalkeeper on the planet.

Dani Carvajal 6/10 – Struggled a little early on but grew into the game.

David Alaba 6/10 – Came off at half time. Unclear at this point whether this was for tactical or fitness reasons.

Eder Militao 7/10 – Real Madrid’s best defender on the night. Made some important blocks and tackles in the first half as the Blues gathered momentum.

Eduardo Camavinga 7/10 – One of the brighest midfield prospects in world football but looked assured at left back.

Toni Kroos 7/10 – Oozes class and was playing in second gear all night.

Luka Modric 7/10 – See above.

Federico Valverde 8/10 – Was the best midfielder on the pitch and really drives this Madrid team on from midfield. His bursting run for the second goal was breathtaking.

Vinicius Jr 7/10  – Had a quiet night for his standards but still set up Rodrygo for the opener.

Karim Benzema 6/10 – Probably the quietest Champions League game Benzema has had in a while.

Rodrygo 9/10 – The best player on the pitch and was deserving of his two goals. Caused issues all night against Trevor Chalobah and looks like another Brazilian superstar.

Substitutes

Antonio Rudiger 7/10 – Came on at half time and was imperious at the back.

Aurélien Tchouaméni 7/10 – Another bright prospect who started for France at times in the World Cup. The Real Madrid conveyor belt of midfield talent continues.

Dani Ceballos 6/10 – Showed some decent touches but isn’t at the level of his midfield teammates.

Marco Asensio 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact but a handy sub to have.

Nacho 6/10 – Came on too late to make an impact

Chelsea vs Real Madrid Match Summary and Highlights

Chelsea knew they had a mountain to climb going in to the game and they ultimately came up short against a very experienced Real Madrid team who were never going to let the occasion get the better of them. The blues had chances to go ahead in the first half, though, with Kante sending a left footed effort just past the post when he really should have at least hit the target.

Fernandez and Havertz also came close for the Blues but Rodrygo put the tie to bed on the hour mark when he raced past a desperate Trevor Chalobah before exchanging passes with Vinicius Jr before putting the ball past Kepa. The away side doubled their lead 20 minutes later when Rodrygo was given a tap in after Valverde burst through the Chelsea defence.

A potential meeting with Manchester City now awaits Real Madrid in the semi finals while Chelsea are sent packing. It will be their last Champions League game for at least 18 months after a miserable domestic season.

Player Of The Match: Rodrygo

Although Benzema and Vinicius typically grab the headlines in this Madrid team, it was the third man of the front three that was the star of the show at Stamford Bridge. He toiled with Cucurella and Chalobah all night and was fully deserving of his two goals.

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