Thingss went from bad to worse for Chelsea in a matter of minutes, and it all had Ben Chilwell right smack in the middle of all controversy.
The English defender was shown a straight red card for tackling Rodrygo right outside Chelsea's box as he came close to scoring the second goal for Real Madrid. Chilwell's tackle came after Marc Cucurella was caught off guard by the Spanish side with a fast break, forcing Chilwell to cover for his Spaniard teammate and wreak havoc to Lampard's tactics.
Chilwell's timing could not have been worse, as Cucurella had just been subbed on to replace Kalidou Koulibaly, who came off with a thigh injury moments before Chilwell's red.
The untimely foul by Chilwell was not something fans wanted to see, and they vented their frustration with the defender on social media.
First of all, let us give you a glimpse on what forced the ref to send Chilwell off (Image might be geo-restricted).
A STRAIGHT red card for Ben Chilwell. pic.twitter.com/hQGKK8uFVF
— CBS Sports Golazo (@CBSSportsGolazo) April 12, 2023
Now, have a look at the frustration shown by Chelsea fans after this red card.
Chilwell the scapegoat for Cucurella's absolutely brainless footballing IQ
— TLV (@TheLampardView) April 12, 2023
Chilwell that is absolutely embarrassing, no need to do that, he's now lost the tie for us 100%. Shocking defending.
— Pys (@CFCPys) April 12, 2023
This is (at least) the second time this season Cucurella has caused a teammate to get a red card. First was Gallagher, now Chilwell.
— ExpectedChelsea (@ExpectedChelsea) April 12, 2023
An absolute calamity of a footballer.
Cucurella has not spent 10 minutes on the field and he already cost Chilwell a red card because of his overlapping. pic.twitter.com/kKYIxenmS2
— LERRY (@_AsiwajuLerry) April 12, 2023
Cucurella & Chilwell both cost us the tie. We're finished. Bring Baba Rahman back.
— Dubois (@CFCDUBois) April 12, 2023
chilwell has seen enough and decided to call it a day pic.twitter.com/sw9bPPwMHs
— aurora (@cr7stianos) April 12, 2023
11th April - signs a two-year contract extension
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 12, 2023
12th April - gets sent off against Real Madrid
A wild 24 hours for Ben Chilwell pic.twitter.com/Ny5g76SaCS