Chelsea reached their third Champions League final after defeating Real Madrid 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
The tie was finely-poised following a 1-1 draw in the first leg however, goals from Timo Werner and Mason Mount in either half meant it was the Blues who booked their flights to Istanbul.
The victory sets up a mouthwatering all-English final between Chelsea and Manchester City on May 29.
History-maker Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel became the first-ever manager to reach consecutive Champions League finals with different teams and the German gave all praise to his players for the achievement.
Tuchel said: ‘We deserved to win even though the first half was very difficult because they had a lot of possession.
‘We were dangerous on the counter-attack every time we won the ball back and we never lost the desire to defend.
‘It was a fantastic second half and we could have scored a lot earlier to be safe but there is no time for criticism because it is a fantastic achievement to reach the final.
‘I’m very grateful to coach a team like this because even when we missed, missed, missed again, we never lost the concentration or the positive energy on the pitch which was huge and it was a huge performance from the players so a huge congratulations to them.’
Real Madrid dictate early proceedings
The 13-time European champions asserted themselves early on dominating possession as Chelsea looked to nervously hang onto their away-goal advantage.
Despite their possession it took Real Madrid until the 10th minute to have their first shot through Toni Kroos’ 25-yard strike which was easily collected by Edouard Mendy.
Just a minute later Antonio Rudiger returned the favour by having an effort from 30-yards out but his strike caused Thibaut Courtois more hassle and the Belgian had to palm out to safety.
Chelsea allowed the visitors the ball in their own half before pressing from halfway and the Blues started to reap their rewards from those tactics as they looked dangerous on the counter-attack.
The hosts had the ball in the back of the net in the 17th minute through Werner’s first-time effort inside the box, but the German was correctly ruled offside by the linesman.
At times Chelsea were passive in their defending and Karim Benzema fired a warning shot to the Blues, by turning quickly to shoot and forcing a great save from Mendy to keep the scores level.
The chance sparked Chelsea into life and they took the lead just a minute later, as Kai Havertz’s deft chip over Courtois bounced off the crossbar and this time Werner timed his run perfectly to nod the rebound into an empty net from less than a yard out.
Similar to the first leg Real Madrid’s main threat was Benzema and the Frenchman ran in behind to head a cross towards goal but Mendy was once again equal to his effort and palmed the ball over the bar.
Blues bombard opponents’ goal
Despite having a lead to protect, the hosts flew out of the blocks in the second half. Just two minutes after the interval Havertz hit the bar once again this time with a powerful header from Cesar Azpilicueta’s cross.
After that chance, it was Mount who drove into the box – after neat interplay with Werner – but the Englishman sent his shot over as Courtois quickly closed down the angle.
In attempt to chase an equaliser Real Madrid left gaping holes in their defensive line and a simple clipped ball forward from Jorginho saw Havertz race through on goal. However, his effort was straight at Courtois who denied the German to keep Los Blancos within touching distance.
Despite requiring a goal to force extra-time, Real Madrid’s only half chance in the second half came through former Blue Eden Hazard – whose low effort from a tight angle forced Mendy to react and keep the ball out with his feet.
Chelsea then missed another golden opportunity to settle the tie as Werner broke from his own half before teeing up N’Golo Kante to shoot but Federico Valverde did excellently to get back and block the effort which seemed destined for the back of the net.
Chances continued to fall for the Blues as Thiago Silva flashed a header wide of the far post before Havertz couldn’t quite reach Christian Pulisic’s low cross to direct the ball into the open goal.
It took Chelsea until the 85th minute to get a deserved second goal and it was Mount who finally put the result beyond doubt for the hosts. The midfielder turning the ball into an empty net from Pulisic’s pass which sparked ecstatic scenes of celebration from the Chelsea players and staff.
