MADRID: Real Madrid needed to pull off a series of comebacks to win their record-extending 14th European Cup last year. This time around, they are making it look easy.

Real took a big step towards reaching the Champions League’s final four on Wednesday when they convincingly beat Chelsea 2-0 in the first leg of their quarter-final. That came after they crushed Liverpool 6-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

The win over Frank Lampard’s side set Madrid on course for what would likely be a semi-final rematch from last season against Manchester City, who beat Bayern Munich 3-0 in their first meeting on Tuesday.

But comfortable as it may have been for Real, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said his team-mates were annoyed they had not put the tie to bed.

Goals by Karim Benzema and substitute Marco Asensio gave reigning champions Real control in the Spanish capital but with Chelsea down to 10 men for more than half an hour, Courtois said the mood was subdued in the dressing room.

“Every time you play a big knockout match you’re left with the sensation that you could have, should have, killed the tie off,” former Chelsea keeper Courtois said.

“This is a good result but we’re bugged by the fact that we didn’t score a third or even a fourth goal. I hope we don’t regret not having added another when we play again next week.”

While Real dominated for much of the night in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Chelsea did have chances and Courtois was forced into a superb save to deny Raheem Sterling an equaliser, shortly after Benzema’s opener.

“They threatened us with a good start to the match where they counter-attacked well. That save I made after we scored was very valuable,” the 30-year-old Belgian said. “Had they scored, it could have given us a big blow mentally. I was really pleased with that stop.”

He said Real would approach next week’s second leg at Stamford Bridge as if the scores were level. “We’ll try to start well and powerfully next week. Our objective is to score first and to win again,” he said.

Real manager Carlo Ancelotti, who won the Premier League and FA Cup double as Chelsea boss in 2009-10, agreed that his side still have a lot of work to do.

“It’s not easy being on the bench for a match like this but I’m very happy,” the Italian said. “We have to stay calm and understand that although we have an advantage, anything can happen in football and we have to manage our lead well.”

Chelsea created enough chan­ces to suggest they can penetrate Real’s defence next week, with Joao Felix, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount all having clear opportunities, and interim manager Frank Lampard said his can overcome the deficit in the second leg.

The Spanish giants could have made the second leg a formality and Lampard says they may live to regret that, insisting “special things” can happen on European nights at Stamford Bridge.

“There were some good things but the result is the reality,” Lampard, who returned to the club last week in the wake of Graham Potter’s sacking, told BT Sport. “But I just said to the players that special things can happen at Stamford Bridge. They are a very good team but we have to believe.”

The odds will be heavily stacked against a Chelsea side who have now gone four games without scoring a goal and Lampard has one week to try and restore some confidence in attack.

“It’s been a difficult period for the players and I think there’s a bit of a lack of belief,” the club’s record goalscorer said. “They have to understand how good they are and what they can do and maybe we’re a bit short of that at the moment. We have to be much more positive in what we’re doing.”

MILAN’S PIOLI REGRETS ONLY SCORING ONCE

In the night’s other tie, AC Milan coach Stefano Pioli said his side should have given themselves more than a one-goal lead in their derby with Napoli after their fellow Italians finished the first leg with 10 men.

Milan had a quarter of an hour to extend their advantage earned from Ismael Bennacer’s first-half strike when Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was sent off for two quick-fire bookings.

“It’s the only regret we have, we should have been more clear-headed,” Pioli told reporters. “It’s a shame but they gave a lot. It’s a good result after a good performance, let’s hope for the next one.”

Milan now have to defend a slim lead at the Stadio Maradona in Naples, with the prospect of a semi-final clash with local rivals Inter Milan after they handily won at Benfica on Tuesday.

“It will be difficult match, Napoli are a good team with a lot of quality, the team which up to now had scored the most goals in the Champions League,” added Pioli. “We had a lot of difficult moments tonight... We’re expecting Napoli to come at us and we need to put everything out there on the pitch. We won’t get our approach wrong... no one here thinks we’ve already won.”

Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti said he would quit if the fans didn’t create an intimidating atmosphere for the second leg after tensions between fans and the owner Aurelio De Laurentiis bubbled over in recent weeks.

Protests from hardcore supporters against De Laurentiis over what they believe are his attempts to remove them from the stadium has left home games flatter than one would expect after such a brilliant season for such a passionate fanbase.

Napoli’s four-goal home hammering at the hands of Milan in the league earlier this month was played in a bizarre atmosphere, with little chanting and even fights breaking out between home supporters.

“If it happens again for the second leg I will quit. For what we’re contending, for the sensitivity these players have because... these players are sensitive to what goes on around them,” said Spalletti. “We played in an atmosphere which did not help us. It’s inexplicable not helping the team in that moment.”

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2023