Real Madrid have the advantage in their bid to reach the Champions League semi-finals as Chelsea face a difficult task following their 2-0 defeat to the reigning champions at the Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema scored his 90th goal in the competition to give Real Madrid an early lead, pleasing his former club’s manager Carlo Ancelotti.
Despite their dominance, Real Madrid struggled to extend their lead until Ben Chilwell was sent off in the 59th minute for fouling Rodrygo, who was making a run towards goal.
Chelsea put up a strong fight, displaying a marked improvement from their previous game against Wolves under interim manager Frank Lampard.
They had chances to score, with Joao Felix forcing Real Madrid’s Thibaut Courtois to make a smart save and Raheem Sterling coming close to an equaliser.
However, Real Madrid sealed their win with a decisive second goal from substitute Marco Asensio, who scored after a short corner caught the Chelsea defense off guard.
Elsewhere, AC Milan took a narrow lead over Napoli after securing a 1-0 victory in the first leg of their all-Italian Champions League quarter-final clash, thanks to Ismael Bennacer’s first-half strike.
Bennacer, the Algerian midfielder, found the back of the net with a shot from outside the box after Braham Diaz made an impressive run from the halfway line.
In the second half, Napoli’s Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa was shown a red card, and despite their numerical disadvantage, Milan maintained their composure and prevented Napoli from finding an equalizer.
Milan could have doubled their lead when Simon Kjaer’s header hit the underside of the crossbar, coming close to scoring a second goal in the match.
Overall, Milan displayed a well-organized performance that enabled them to secure the win and hold the advantage going into the second leg.