it truly is a special place a stadium every football fan should visit should he or she
get the chance the santiago bernabeu here in madrid derrick ray here and the comedy position
and i'm joined as always by lee dixon and we've got so much to look forward to
this is where it all begins in europe's premier club competition the uefa champions league
the group stage match day one action it's real madrid taking on chelsea well the first group
stage of the champions league is always exciting three points is vital for both teams to get off
to a good start or a draw may be a good result as well we're about to find out what happens
so
now let's dissect the real madrid side
tebow courtois begins in goal sergio ramos plays with rafael varan at the back
tony course plays with casemiro in the center of the pitch and leading the line today is kareem
benzema
so
here's the lineup for chelsea antonio rudiger starts with andreas christensen in central defense
and golo kante starts alongside matteo kovacich in central midfield
and the attacking tandem christian pulisic starts with olivier giroud it's the opening match day
champions league group stage match day one underway
i'm giving it away
rhys james
mateo kovacic they keep the ball advantage chelsea
pulisic well they're keeping their opponents moving and guessing
and a throw in it's going to be
well because without question one of the foremost players in world football highly
creative i'm talking about aiden azar and you have to think that he's going to have a big saily
well what can you say about this lad that hasn't already been said i've watched him
an awful lot derek still can't work him out i can't decide how i would play against him
predominantly right footed but he can go both ways superb balance it needs an accurate cross
casimiro here's ramos mandy benzema oh that's a pass of high quality couldn't grab hold of it
and then at the second time of asking but the goalkeeper badly at fault
well here's the replay and derek a lot of the time the keeper saved the day
the last line of defense but he's had a nightmare here big mistake and the goal goes down to him
so chelsea restart the game can they come up with an answer
pulisic chance to attack using with
crossing possibilities well he dealt with that ball played in rather well and pulisic has it and
that's a defender you really have to concentrate to the maximum to bar the door as he did then
chelsea throw in here chillwell move
could be well the keeper making sure that was pushed well away from danger and unable to keep
possession well still behind derrick aren't they but how what incredible goalkeeping that was
oh that's a super ball over the top andre it should be really important tackle tremendous
blocks
oh they've done it a goal for chelsea who've got themselves on level terms
well here's the replay and what a ball that is to put him through and once he gets himself
settled with the keeper to beat he hammers it into the back of the net smashing goal
well a penny for his thoughts right now derek plan b i think's needed
even stephen won a piece on this match
how could he take them on and beat them aiden azar hangs on to it just waiting for help to arrive
well not a great cross making the goalkeeper's job rather easy
now and intercepted it
and a throw in forthcoming
angola conte
chilwell and making us move inside commentates and ramos gets in the way went in strongly decisively
well that's not going to help the cause an effort like that lee well sometimes you can just get a
little bit too cute put your head down put your laces through the ball and strike it
and it crossed the touchline so a throw in here
mateo kovacic kante
meat and drink to the belgian
casimiro
mrs course
and possession given away
pulisic conte has it
the referee has decided there will be just a real opening now and the ball is loose
well they survived the attack and that is that half time here on the spanish capital
well then golo conte influential in that first 45 lee what have you made of his performance so far
well he's been involved in most of the positive and so the second half of this
champions league group stage match day one contest
commences chillwell and golo conte here's kovacics
olivier giroud
a bit sloppy in possession
mandy has it mendy
lucas vasquez
passing it around looking for the goal that would put them ahead
well they couldn't keep possession benzema
a danger here as he runs at them into the center by azar might still be able to do a bit of damage
perfect challenge
not what he was intending bad pass of course
crucial intervention just then amid impending danger
now can they counter clinically and he's broken free
it's opened up for him and it's a goal from the bright young american christian politic
well here it is again it's all about the pace in transition they were so quick to get out from the
back and he chooses to use power in the finish not much chance for the keeper when he's hit that hard
well the manager's showing signs of frustration
they need to improve if they're going to get something out of this game derrick
so they're playing again can real madrid bounce back
tony cross this is sergio ramos
real madrid have given us away casemiro
and benzema at the hub of this attack let's see what he does next tremendous block
mount making progress
well let's come down to the final 20 minutes here
tony course well it was never going to worry the keeper well no wonder he's
looking a little bit sheepishly at his teammates head in a hand sort of moment
christensen well chelsea have struggled with possession of it but they won't mind they're
winning this game and why because their counter-attack is absolutely fantastic
angola kante here's mount
well he made sure there was absolutely no way through
well real madrid are going to make the change now
and the flag does go up must have been
tied
attempting to play catch up in this second half
lee what are the priorities to beat well the game is very very close isn't it and madrid will
feel as if there's another goal out there force the opposition backwards more balls in the box
put the pressure on force the issue how can they find a late leveler
and the counter looks on here options available all hands on deck meet and drink to the belgian
excellent challenge
inside the final five minutes now well read to win possession back well time is running out for
real madrid here derek the fans are urging the team forward to attack surely they will
get another chance or two before the final whistle and here they come still pressing for an equaliser
and return to benzema luka modric at the ready well they would have been
in a decent position there but offside oh what a wasted opportunity that is
kante so two minutes of stoppage time to be added on
mandy this is sergio ramos aidan azar and that's it for tonight's full time and an
encouraging start for them three points from the initial fixture late yeah really really
strong start that's what you need but with five games to go very important you stay in the now
one game at a time derek bit of a cliche well this man has given us plenty of reasons to
dwell on his performance this evening league well he's always a danger isn't he no more so
when he grabbed that goal he never disappoints me when i watch him he's just too good simple