Gary Neville’s infamous reign as Valencia boss is often used as a stick to beat the Sky Sports pundit. But he was quick to remind one critic that it wasn’t all bad after his advice to Chelsea proved prophetic during their clash with Real Madrid.
Frank Lampard’s side actually started well at the Bernabeu, with Joao Felix spurning a glorious chance to put them in front in the opening minutes. The European champions grew in confidence however and by the time Karim Benzema opened the scoring, the writing had been on the wall. And Neville saw it coming, with a perfectly timed post less than a minute before Benzema’s tap in.
“Chelsea wing backs have to run forward and the back 3 spread when they get in possession or they will never get out!” Neville warned. Less than a minute later Chelsea were punished, with their three central defenders pinned deep in their own area and unable to stop Vinicius Jr. and Benzema.
