Carlo Ancelotti admitted Real Madrid struggled to contain N’Golo Kante in the first half of their 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League at Stamford Bridge. The Champions League holders stepped up a gear in the second half and Rodrygo silenced the Stamford Bridge crowd with his goal from close range in the 58th minute, before rounding off an excellent Madrid move with ten minutes remaining to secure the victory. Ancelotti revealed Madrid needed mid-game tactical changes in order to halt Chelsea’s push to find a way back into the tie. “I think that we suffered the position of Kante, that wasn’t right,” Ancelotti said after the game. “Camavinga was used to put pressure on Reece James on the left and we had difficulty controlling the position of Kante. In the second half changed the position, I put Valverde on the left just to control the position and we were much better there because the position in the first half Modric went to stay with Enzo and that position was not covered properly and Camavinga suffered two against one. Because of this there were six crosses from that side in the first half, second half was much better.”
Ancelotti also credited Thibaut Courtois for his save to deny Marc Cucurella in the first half. “We’re very happy to reach another semi final,” said Ancelotti. “We fought a lot, it was a complicated game as we predicted. In this type of game the rival is going to give everything. Chelsea played very well, especially in the first half. They caused us a lot of problems, Courtois saved us, kept it 0-0 until half time. In the second half we played a lot better, we had a lot more quality. Chelsea lowered their intensity a bit and we were able to control the ball better.”