It could have been comfortable. It should have been comfortable. Chelsea outplayed Real Madrid almost from start to finish, just as it had in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, and yet there was a palpable sense of relief Wednesday when Mason Mount finally got the decisive second goal with six minutes remaining. That secured a 3–1 aggregate win, 2–0 on the day, sending Chelsea to a date with Manchester City in the Champions League final in Istanbul at the end of the month.
The contrast to the drama of its last semifinal success in the competition was startling.