Carlo Ancelotti: ‘Magic’ of the Bernabeu helped Real Madrid ‘never surrender’ against Chelsea in Champions League

Carlo Ancelotti saluted the “magic” of the Bernabeu after Real Madrid swerved a damaging Champions League exit to Chelsea with a thrilling recovery. With 10 minutes left on the clock, Chelsea led 3-0 on the night – and 4-3 on aggregate – after blowing the runaway Liga leaders away on their own patch. Ad/> But Rodrygo volleyed home Luka Modric’s majestic pass to send the tie into extra time before first-leg hero Karim Benzema completed a crazy night by heading home the winner.

Champions LeagueTuchel slams ref for ‘smiling and laughing loud’ with AncelottiAN HOUR AGO Ancelotti admitted his side suffered to reach the semi-finals and heaped praise on those inside the stadium. «We struggled after going 2-0 down, I think the team went down a bit psychologically,” he said. “How can I explain it? The magic of this stadium helps the players to never surrender, and we never surrender.

“I am very, very happy to have reached the semi-finals with this team, with this club, suffering a lot. But the more we suffer, the more I am happy.» Tuchel slams ref for ‘smiling and laughing loud’ with Ancelotti Chelsea showed fight but their season goes down as a failure /> Victory ensured Ancelotti became the third manager in history to reach the Champions League semi-finals eight times after Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola. Real will face either Manchester City or local rivals Atletico Madrid in the last four.

City take a 1-0 aggregate lead to the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium on Wednesday. Ancelotti also commended fellow Spanish side Villarreal for reaching the semi-finals after their shock win over Bayern Munich. «I think that tonight we showed that we can compete up until the very last match,» he said.