With his hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 3-1 win over Chelsea in the quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, Karim Benzema caught the light in the press. But in this article presented by FedEx, the UEFA Technical Observers Panel highlights Madrid’s excellent work in midfield at Stamford Bridge, including the influential role played by Federico Valverde.
Chelsea Chelsea started the game in a 3-4-2-1 formation but Thomas Tuchel changed at half-time to a 4-3-3, removing one of their three centre-backs, Andreas Christensen (4), and the midfielder N’Golo Kanté (7) and bringing in Mateo Kovačić (8) and Hakim Ziyech (22). If the objective was to take more control in midfield, Madrid’s goal a minute later dashed their hopes, although Chelsea had a few chances after another substitute, Romelu Lukaku (9 ), in the 64th minute.
real Madrid Madrid settled into a 4-3-3 in possession, which turned into a 5-3-2 out of possession and this tactical approach had a big effect. In possession the Spaniards looked to build, with goalkeeper Courtois (1) showing good decision-making and the full-backs were very mobile.
It was interesting to see how midfielders Kroos (8) and Modrić (10) were able to find spaces as the game progressed; this happened before each of the first two goals when Kroos and then Modrić were hit on a cross pass from Casemiro (14). It was difficult for Chelsea to put pressure on these two players in the first half, when the English had only two midfielders against three for Madrid.
Defending in their 5-3-2, Madrid tried to close the gaps. In the first half, Vinícius Júnior (20) looked to put pressure on Christensen, and Benzema (9) on Thiago Silva.
In midfield, Modrić stayed close to Jorginho and from there he moved up to put pressure on Rüdiger, with Casemiro still behind to try and cut Havertz off the track. Fourth midfielder Valverde (15) – who we’ll discuss below – was moved into a full-back position and remained close to César Azpilicueta.
After Chelsea brought in Lukaku, Madrid finished the game 5-4-1, Casemiro went down in defense to help David Alaba (4) and substitute Nacho (6), who came on in place of Éder Militao (3), injured.
Highlights
Ancelotti’s game plan has paid off handsomely and the video above highlights Valverde’s influence for his fourth start in the competition this season. With three 30-somethings in Madrid’s midfield, the 23-year-old Uruguayan brought energy to his role on the right side of smothering Azpilicueta when Chelsea attacked, as seen in the first video.
Azpilicueta managed just 13 passes in the final 30 meters against James’s 25. Valverde’s work wasn’t just defensive as the second video shows him recovering the ball from Azpilicueta before combining with Benzema to serve Vinícius Júnior for a strike over the bar and he was also involved in setting up the third goal (video 3).
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Federico Valverde impressed at Real MadridAFP via Getty Images–
In his 86 minutes on the pitch, he made two tackles and had more duels (13) than any other Madrid player (with a success rate of 46.2%).
Another midfielder who shone was Casemiro, who led ball recoveries (nine) and played a key role in hindering opposing attacks. In possession, he was instrumental in his ability to find the extra midfield – as well as the full-backs when they got stronger.
Chelsea hadn’t lost to Madrid in five previous encounters, but the starters lacked a spark in the first half and it wasn’t until the second that they were able to generate noticeable pressure and get the home crowd excited.
Striker Havertz impressed technical observers with his technique, speed and percussion. Still, the fact that Lukaku missed an easy header frustrated summed up the lack of precision the Blues displayed, with 20 shots but just five on target. Madrid, on the other hand, had five shots on target from just eight attempts.
