Cesar Azpilicueta rues Chelsea not capitalizing on their fast start
Cesar Azpilicueta regretted the fact that Chelsea could not capitalise on their good start against Real Madrid (h/t Daily Mail). Chelsea drew the first leg of this tie and have a slight advantage due to the away goal.
The Blues came out of the block in rip-roaring fashion as they took charge of the opening exchanges. They hurried onto their opponents and forced an early save from Thibaut Courtois. Five minutes later, Christian Pulisic gave the visitors the lead with a sublime solo goal.
However, Chelsea somewhat tailed off from there and allowed Read Madrid to get back into the game. Karim Benzema hit the post once but did not waste his second chance as he squared the tie with a sumptuous volley in the 29th minute.
The second half was a back and forth affair as both teams looked to play it safer. In the end, the 1-1 scoreline was not disturbed. However, Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta felt that Chelsea missed a trick in not capitalizing on their good start to the game.
‘I think we started really well for the first 20-25 minutes, we got the goal and I think we could have scored more,’ he said. They got back from a set play. We then controlled some parts and suffered in others. It is just the first half, we knew against Real Madrid it would be tough. We started with courage, we had to perform at our best level. The semi-final of a Champions League asks you to play your best. We missed that little last pass where we could choose the best option.’
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Chelsea will only need a 0-0 draw in next week’s second leg to progress to the final. However, with Real Madrid needing that goal, one can expect the tie to be interesting. Provided they can hold on, Chelsea would be making it to the finals for the first time since 2012.