Chelsea woeful continued as Rodrygo second-half brace sealed a semifinals ticket for Real Madrid.
The Spanish giant defeated the Blues 2-0 win over at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday to seal a spot in the Champions League semifinals for the defending champions by a final aggregate score of 4-0.
Frank Lampard’s four matches as interim manager have produced the club’s first four-game losing streak in 30 years.
And Chelsea’s season is now over six weeks prematurely. They are in the bottom half of the Premier League table, they are out of every Cup and have eight dead rubbers ahead of them.
A cagey opening 45 minutes looked similar to Madrid’s 2-0 win in the first leg of the quarterfinal tie as Chelsea came out strong before the visitors settled into the game and were largely in control up to half-time.
Marc Cucurella should have scored just before the half, but a scampering Thibaut Courtois blocked his close-range strike after the Spaniard was left all alone at the far post and the teams went into the break tied 0-0.
“It isn’t easy to get to the semifinals or a final. In the last three years we’ve got to a lot of them,” Courtois said following the win.
“Obviously when you play a semifinal and lose, like against [Chelsea] three years ago, you don’t celebrate it.
“We’re happy to get to a semifinal, which isn’t easy, but once you’re there, if you lose, it doesn’t feel like much.Our target is to go through and win.”
Any hopes Chelsea might have had of an improbable comeback were dashed when Rodrygo scored shortly before the hour mark — the celebrations starting well and truly in Madrid a little over 20 minutes later when the Brazilian doubled the lead for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
“I don’t know how to explain it. I always say it’s a very special competition for me, every time I play I can help the team,” Rodrygo said after the match.
“I’m happy and I hope to carry on like that, scoring more goals, providing more assists and winning the Champions League again.”