Luka Modric says Real Madrid “were dead” until Rodrigo’s goal put them back in the tie during Tuesday night’s Champions League thriller.
Madrid triumphed 5-4 on aggregate despite losing the second-leg 3-2 on a hugely dramatic evening in the Spanish capital.
Mason Mount, Antonio Rudiger and Timo Werner had put Thomas Tuchel’s side ahead, with the 13-time European champions looking shellshocked, much as Paris Saint-Germain did against them in the round-of-16.
Modric, however, provided a glorious assist for Rodrigo only minutes after he had been brought on before Karim Benzema put Madrid back in front with a header only six minutes into extra-time.
Even then, Kai Havertz, Hakim Ziyech and Jorginho all had chances to respond but, despite a valiant effort, the holders fell to defeat.
An absolute thriller at the Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid once again proved they know how to grind results out at the top level even when not performing on the night.
Speaking after the game, Modric said: “It’s unbelievable to describe this game. We were dead until the goal that we scored. Chelsea scored three good goals, maybe the first one a bit lucky from a deflection.
“We didn’t give up, we kept believing, kept fighting and in the end we scored two goals, showed huge character. The fans were very helpful for us when we were losing 3-0 and that gave us a boost to keep believing we could turn this around.”
Later, the former Tottenham star would reveal he watches Chelsea a lot given international teammate Mateo Kovacic’s presence in the team.
“In this completion experience is playing an important role and certainly it helped us a bit, but we knew even after the first game we would have a tough game. I watch them a lot because of my team Mateo [Kovacic] and they’re tough, physical.”
