Chelsea FC UEFA Champions League Campaign

Chelsea FC 2021/22 UEFA Champions League campaign started on the 14th of September 2021. In the prior campaign in 2020/21, Chelsea won the competition, for only the second time in their history. They defeated Manchester City F.C on the 29th May 2021, thanks to a goal from Kai Havertz. The 2021/22 campaign was Chelsea's 17th time in the competition.

Group Stage
Chelsea began the competition on the 14th of September against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. Chelsea welcomed the Russian Premier League team to Stamford Bridge. Chelsea opened their defence of the Champions League with a victory as Romelu Lukaku finally pierced Zenit St Petersburg's stubborn resistance at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea won the game 1-0 with a goal from Romelu Lukaku. Chelsea's second game was against Italian side Juventus FC, a Serie A team. Chelsea flew to Turin and on the 29th of September Chelsea played at Juventus Stadium. The superb Federico Chiesa scored 11 seconds after half-time to give Juventus a hard-fought win over Chelsea in Turin. Chelsea's final opponent in the group stage was Malmö FF, and on the 20th October, Chelsea played them at Stamford Bridge. Andreas Christensen opened the scoring in the 9th minute, followed by a penalty kick from Jorginho, who also scored another in the 57th minute and Kai Havertz scored his first Champions League goal since the final last season.

After the first three games, Chelsea had earned 6/9 possible available points. Chelsea's next game was against Malmö FF and they travelled to Sweden. On the 2nd of November, the game kicked off at Eleda Stadion. After being frustrated in the first half, the Blues went ahead when Hakim Ziyech converted at the back post following an excellent cross from Callum Hudson-Odoi. Chelsea's penultimate game was against Juventus in London, and on the 23rd of November, the game kicked off at 8.00 pm. Trevoh Chalobah, who was making his first European start for the Blues, scored the opener before Reece James controlled a clearance and volleyed across Wojciech Szczesny to give Chelsea the advantage their dominant performance deserved. After the restart, two goals in quick succession from Reece James and Callum Hudson-Odoi gave Chelsea a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Timo Werner sealed Chelsea's victory. The final game of the group stage was against FC Zenit Saint Petersburg. A dramatic equaliser from substitute Magomed Ozdoev four minutes into added time meant holders Chelsea failed to top their group.

Round of 16
Chelsea were drawn against Ligue 1 side Lille OSC. The game kicked off on Tuesday 22 February 2022 at Stamford Bridge. 8 minutes in, Kai Havertz scored his second of the campaign putting Chelsea 1-0 up. The second half restarted and Christian Pulisic scored Chelsea's second goal giving them a lead going into the second leg in Lille. Chelsea took control of their Champions League last-16 tie against Lille with a comfortable victory at Stamford Bridge. The second leg was on Wednesday 16 March 2022, in the Stade Pierre-Muroy. Burak Yilmaz pulled Lille back into the tie with a penalty after Jorginho handled, only for Christian Pulisic to reply in first-half injury time. Chelsea won the tie 4-1 on aggregate to move onto the quarter-finals.

Quarter Finals
After defeating Lille OSC, Chelsea were drawn to play against Real Madrid CF. Real Madrid had won 14 UEFA Champions League trophies prior to this campaign. The match was played on Wednesday 6 April 2022, in London at Stamford Bridge. Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 21st minute, to only then go and score again in the 24th minute. 5 minutes before half-time, Chelsea's Kai Havertz scored for Chelsea. The half finished 1-2 to Real Madrid, and a minute after half-time resumed, Benzema scored his third to complete his hat-trick. Real Madrid won the first leg 1-3. Chelsea's hold on the Champions League hangs precariously after Karim Benzema's hat-trick put Real Madrid in a position of power following the quarter-final first leg at Stamford Bridge. The second leg was played on Tuesday 12 April 2022, at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. The game kicked off at 8.00 pm and 15 minutes into the game, Mason Mount scored. After halftime, Antonio Rudiger scored a headed goal followed by Timo Werner to put Chelsea in the lead of the tie. In the 80th minute, Rodrygo scored a headed goal assisted by Luka Modric, and at the end of the 90 minutes, it was level and going to extra time. In the 96th minute, Karim Benzema scored his fourth goal over the two games to win the game and for Real Madrid to move to the semi-finals. Chelsea's reign as European champions came to an agonising end despite beating Real Madrid on a night of high drama at the Bernabeu Stadium.