Chelsea took a huge step towards a spot in the final of this season’s Champions League with a vital away goal in their 1-1 draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday night.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were perhaps slight favourites against Zinedine Zidane’s injury-ravaged squad but were still made to work for an important result by their Spanish opponents.
Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea: Player Ratings and Match Statistics
So which players stood out most on Tuesday night?
✔️ Karim Benzema: 7.1
It seems as though Madrid are only as good as the goals Karim Benzema continues to score for them these days.
Prior to Tuesday’s clash, the French international had bagged a remarkable 27 goals and seven assists in just 39 games and has by some distance been the club’s most impressive player this season.
As such, it’ll come as no surprise to any Madrid supporter that it was the senior striker that latched on to a corner in the 29th minute and, with a remarkable amount of technical ability when he chested the ball down, twirled and then fired the ball into the back of the net.
This Madrid side may not be at its very best right now but Benzema has never looked sharper.
✔️ Christian Pulisic: 8.3
Christian Pulisic had a lot to prove when he returned from injury to find a new manager in charge of his team. For the most part the American international has done well to show his qualities, but on Tuesday night he truly starred.
In a first half that saw Chelsea truly berate the Madrid defence, Pulisic was part of a three-pronged attack that ultimately opened the scoring just 14 minutes into the match and snatched a vital away goal.
After plucking a long a long ball from Antonio Rudiger out of the air, Pulisic then darted into the Madrid box, jinked by Thibaut Courtois and fired the ball into the back of the net. A moment of magic that went a long way to helping Chelsea dream of a spot in the final.
⭐️ Eder Militao: 8.8
Regardless of whether Madrid deserved a draw on Tuesday night, there’s no doubt that Chelsea would have found things far easier if not for the heroics of Eder Militao in defence.
The Brazilian defender has often looked out of place at Madrid and initially struggled to show his worth to the Spanish giants, but over the last few months Militao has grown into his role in central defence and on Tuesday looked like a genuine contender to replace Sergio Ramos next season.
Whether it was chasing down pacey forwards, intercepting through balls or heading away the constant crosses, Chelsea simply couldn’t get by the defender. And as a result Madrid are still very much in this tie.
Real Madrid 1-1 Chelsea: Player Ratings and Match Statistics
Christian Pulisic 
Éder Militão 
Chelsea 
Real Madrid 
