We have a tough task ahead of us if our 2021/22 Champions League campaign is to continue, following a 3-1 loss at Stamford Bridge in the opening leg of our quarter-final.

It was two first-half headers by Karim Benzema that left us chasing the tie. Kai Havertz’s brave header of our own gave us hope of a comeback, before a rare error by Edouard Mendy allowed Benzema to complete his hat-trick early in the second period, leaving us with a two-goal deficit to overcome in Spain next week.

A game of two halves

Thomas Tuchel said after the match the Blues were well below our usual level at the start, feeling the opening 45 minutes against Real was possibly the worst he’d seen from his team at Stamford Bridge. He also identified the timing and type of passes his players made, as well as the intensity in the tackle, as two areas the Blues were lacking in.

There is evidence of that in the stats from the game, which show us to be more incisive with our passing later in the game, with only six of our 15 key passes coming in the first half. Jorginho had the game’s highest number with three, while only one Real Madrid player managed more than one, compared with four Blues.

In terms of intensity, only three successful tackles were made by Chelsea players in the first half, compared with eight in the second. In fact, only four were attempted before the break, but we applied much more pressure on our opponents when they were in possession after that, attempting 15 after half-time, with the four from Mason Mount the joint-highest on the pitch.

Tuchel also felt we improved in the second half, following a change of formation to a back four, and it's not just those previous statistics which back him up, suggesting we might have closed the deficit even further on a different night.

We had chances in the second half to secure a second goal at the Bridge, taking 20 shots compare to Real Madrid’s eight. Goal-scorer Havertz had the most in the game with six, twice as many as anyone else in Blue and ahead of Real’s Benzema, who got a ruthlessly efficient three goals from his four efforts. Benzema was the only Madrid player with more than one shot, whereas five Blues players took two or more.

It is also telling of our second-half performance that Benzema’s 46th-minute goal was the last by any Madrid player in the game, while we went on to take another 12 in the second half, compared to eight in the first.

Second-half response

Despite the shock of the third Real Madrid goal in the first minute of the second half, we did recover our composure and look for ways to peg the visitors back, even if it remained difficult to break them down at the in the final third.

As the shot statistics above showed, we had our opportunities and with a bit more luck we could be heading to Madrid with a healthier scoreline. We gained a territorial advantage, with 39 per cent of the game played in Real Madrid’s third of the pitch, compared to just 16 per cent in our defensive third, as even in the first half the visitors relied mainly on counter-attacks and quick breaks forward.

We also had 57 per cent of the possession, as well as completing 639 passes to Real’s 468. The type of pass was different in the second half, though, as we showed a willingness to get the ball forward and into the box quicker, with 15 of our 24 long passes and 11 of our 18 crosses coming in the second 45 minutes.

However, the difficulty we had in carving out clear chances is shown by the fact that fully half of our 20 shots came from outside the penalty area.

Busy flank

Tuchel had opted to field Cesar Azpilicueta as the left-sided wing-back, hoping his defensive nous would help to contain the potent threat of an overload down that side as Real Madrid’s attack-minded right-back Dani Carvajal surged forward to join winger Federico Valverde.

Our head coach had definitely spotted a danger area and our opponents’ preferred route, as shown by the fact fully 46 per cent of the Spanish side’s attacks came down that side, while managing just 20 per cent through the middle of the pitch, despite their extra man in midfield.

It also offered us opportunities to counter into the space behind Carvajal, though, with 40 per cent of our own attacks taking place down that same wing, although our play was more balanced across the pitch, with Reece James able to play a more attacking role on our right.

Only Havertz had more than James’ three shots for Chelsea, with his two on target matching the German, and only Jorginho surpassed his two key passes. Reece’s two successful dribbles were the highest of any Blues player (alongside Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek), as were his five crosses (with Hakim Ziyech).