European giants Real Madrid and AC Milan have knocked out Chelsea and Napoli respectively to secure places in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Real Madrid and AC Milan, who between them have been European champions 21 times, have both advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, ending the dreams of Chelsea and Napoli respectively.
Rodrygo scored twice for holders Madrid at Stamford Bridge to give them a 4-0 aggregate win.
In a match of two missed penalties in Naples, one by each side, Victor Osimhen scored late for the hosts but Olivier Giroud’s earlier goal for Milan secured a 1-1 draw to earn them a 2-1 victory overall.
Madrid are now expected to face Manchester City, who defend a 3-0 first-leg lead away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Seven-time winners Milan are next likely to meet city rivals Inter, who hold a 2-0 first-leg advantage over Benfica ahead of their second leg in Italy.
Both home teams had dreamed of delivering memorable occasions for their fans on Tuesday night.
Chelsea’s caretaker boss Frank Lampard, needing to respond to a 2-0 first-leg loss, sent out a side packed with defenders and midfielders and left hundreds of millions of pounds worth of forwards on the bench in London.
So when chances arrived there was no one to take them. N’Golo Kante and Marc Cucurella missed glorious opportunities, while Rodrygo underlined the visitors’ threat by striking the outside of the post and Vinicius Junior shooting wide just before the break.
The second period began with more Chelsea pressure, Kante and Kai Havertz both going close but in the 58th Rodrygo escaped down the right and, when the ball came back to him from Vinicius, he put the tie beyond doubt.
With 11 minutes left the young Brazilian left Chelsea’s miserable season in tatters, tapping in after Vinicius and Federico Valverde had again opened the Blues up.
“We played really well for 60 minutes, and maybe it’s normal after the goal – it’s 3-0 in the tie and we make some changes to go for it – it’s maybe normal how the game pans out to a degree, but 60 minutes, really good, really good chances at this level and you have to take them,” Lampard told BT Sport.
A similar pattern unfolded in Italy. Napoli, needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit, pushed on, boosted by the return of Osimhen after being injured while on international duty.
On a rare Milan attack midway through the opening half, Rafael Leao was felled by Mario Rui in the box. However, Alex Meret guessed right and saved Giroud’s spot kick.
Soon after Giroud was again denied by Meret. But the French veteran could not miss after 43 minutes when Leao seized on a loose ball, sprinted forward on a 70-yard slalom run, and rolled a cross into his path six metres out.
With Osimhen poorly served and well-shackled, Neapolitan hopes were drifting away when they were gifted an 82nd-minute penalty after Giovanni di Lorenzo’s cross hit the arm of Fikayo Tomori.
But, summing up the Serie A leaders’ night, Mike Maignan dived to his right to push away Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s effort.
Osimhen scored with a bullet header in added time, but it was too little, too late.
“It has been a long path. We were considered underdogs against Napoli, but I coach a group with a big heart,” Napoli coach Stefano Pioli said.
“We grit our teeth and suffered (but) deserved the qualification.”
(FBTL)
