'What a game!': Spirited Chelsea wins hearts despite Champions League exit to Real Madrid

It was a heartbreaking night for Chelsea fans, yet the spirited performance and the roar of the pride of London won the hearts of football fans worldwide.

Chelsea's reign as European Champions came to an agonising end despite beating La Liga giants Real Madrid in a high-octane clash at the Bernabeu Stadium.

In a Champions League epic, the Blues put on a courageous display, turning the tables on their 3-1 first-leg deficit to inch ahead 4-3 on aggregate. However, Real Madrid's Rodrygo's equaliser took the clash into extra time before the in-form Karim Benzema slammed another header to sink Tuchel's side.

Chelsea was outstanding throughout the game, but the decisive goal in the 96th minute by the first-leg hat-trick scorer Benzema sent Real Madrid through the semi-finals with a 5-4 aggregate.

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In the end, Chelsea, who played superbly, fell just short of producing one of the greatest comebacks in the competition, winning the hearts of football enthusiasts globally. Here's a look at some of the reactions on Twitter:

Following the shocking exit, Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel was furious over a decision made by VAR to rule out a second-half goal for Chelsea, when Marcos Alonso was adjudged to have handled before smashing the ball past Thibaut Courtois.

Referee Szymon Marciniak ruled the goal out without checking the VAR monitor, with Tuchel claiming that officials do not have the "courage" to give decisions against Real Madrid.

But it was the official's joyful moment with Carlos Ancelotti that enraged the German the most at full-time.

"I was disappointed that the referee had a good time with Carlo," said Tuchel after the game. 

"When I wanted to go and say thank you, he was smiling and laughing with the opponent's coach. I think this is the very wrong time to do this after the final whistle, 126 minutes of a team giving their heart. When you go and see a referee smiling and laughing with the other coach, it's bad timing. I told him this," said the Chelsea manager.

"[It's] not only today. When you play against Real Madrid, maybe you don't expect everyone has the courage. I felt the little decisions in the first leg and today as well. I didn't see the goal, but I am super disappointed he didn't come out and check it on its own. You should stay the boss and not give the decisions to someone in a chair and who is isolated," Tuchel remarked.

Tuchel, however, was full of praise for his Chelsea side after the match and admitted this defeat is easier to take given the performances put in by his players.

"These are the kind of defeats we can digest and swallow. We left nothing to regret out there. We played what we wanted to play, with the quality and the character this team has. We deserved to go through, we were simply unlucky, and it wasn't to be," the German stated.

"The most important thing is how we play and the input from the players. The full credit is for the players. You need to score and win and do it over the 90 mins. We were unlucky not to go through," Tuchel concluded.

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