This Tuesday, April 27, Real Madrid received at the Alfredo Di Stéphano Stadium the Blues of Chelsea on behalf of the first semi-final of the Champions League. Both teams held each other in check on the score of 1-1. In a rather bitter and contested match, if not always spectacular, Chelsea and Real Madrid parted ways without a winner. Goals from Pulisic and Benzema. Thomas Tuchel's players showed great things and great solidity, but did not resist Karim Benzema. For their part, the Merengue delivered a rather disappointing performance and are doing well. Everything will be possible in the second leg next Wednesday at Stamford Bridge.
A solid match on both sides
It all came down to the first half in this match where Chelsea opened the scoring in the 14th minute through Christian Pulisic. Karim Benzema equalised in the 29th minute thanks to a classy sequence. Enterprising in the first 45 minutes, the Blues were less dangerous when they returned from the locker room. For their part, the Merengue were not really up to the event and can be satisfied with the score in view of the physiognomy of the match. 
The first half and especially the first 20 minutes are clearly to Chelsea's advantage. With a 3-5-2 set up, Madrid are lost. The defensive positioning of the real players leaves something to be desired and benefits the Blues. The latter operate in rapid transition by piercing the midfield of Casa Blanca too easily. Nevertheless, we felt a lack of inspiration on the side of the Chelsea attack who badly negotiated their opportunities in the last meters. Like Werner who misses a huge face-off in the 9th minute. Only the American Pulisic (14th) managed to shake Courtois' net. After a complicated first half of the half, Real Madrid got back on track by going back to 4 defenders. Benzema hit the post and equalised (29th) in exceptional fashion. The saviour of the real scores his 71 goals in the Champions League. He thus equals Raúl as the fourth highest scorer in the history of the LDC. In the second half, the match was unspectacular. Both teams seemed quite satisfied with the score and kept a defensive solidity. The tactical system put in place by Tuchel was very effective in order to keep a defensive consistency. There was fatigue on both sides. On this match, the real suffered a physical deficit related to repeated injuries and the accumulation of important matches. It should be noted that the substitutes brought little when they entered the pitch.In the second half, it was difficult to remember a goal opportunity. In the whole match, Zidane's men only framed one strike. It's a statistic that shows how hard Real Madrid were against the Blues' block. The English were able to close the spaces against the lively Madrid players. In the end, Real scored on their only shot of the match! The English have framed them 5 times. In the end, on the raw result, it is rather favorable to the Blues, but Tuchel's players were so superior for half an hour, they were able to make a better result. On the return, in a week, Real Madrid will have to put the necessary ingredients to be more dangerous offensively. 
The reaction of Tuchel and Zidane
Tuchel (Chelsea): "An extraordinary start to the match"
Thomas Tuchel, the coach of the Blues, regretted that his team did not materialize more clearly its domination of the first half, on the lawn of Real Madrid.
"You can't be upset but disappointed," he said. It's disappointing because we have to score, especially when we can lead 2 or 3-0 at half-time. It was an extraordinary start to the match. When you don't make it happen, it's also hard not to lose confidence. So I'm satisfied with the reaction of my players in the second half. Especially since we saw, at the end, that we were tired."
Zidane (Real Madrid): "The result is right"
The Madrid coach spoke at a press conference after this match:
"It's true that our first period is not one of the most beautiful. We struggled to press, but we rectified that and in the second half we were much better. We played against a very fast and very good team, especially their players in attack, but in the end the result is fair. We have suffered, but we are on the right path, and we are convinced of what we are doing. We can't score three or four goals every game, especially against a team that defends so well."
