April 07, (THEWILL) – Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League dreams to retain the trophy they won last season are on a knife’s edge after the Blues were thrashed 3-1 by Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final encounter, thanks to another Karim Benzema UCL masterclass at a drenched Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
The hosts started well and controlled possession, but they were caught off guard by two stunning strikes inside half an hour, followed by a sucker punch shortly after halftime when Benzema wrapped up his hat-trick.
Five minutes in, Kai Havertz came close, taking on his man before slamming it over the crossbar. Not long after, Vinicius Jr carried the ball forward in the left channel before his bending effort clipped the top of the bar.
After a quarter-hour, Reece James forced former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into action with a well-struck free kick, which the Belgian was able to push away, as both sides struggled to find an opening.
But, one man was about to change the tempo of the tie. Midway through the half, Benzema performed a three-minute heading masterclass, first rising to perfectly finish Vinicius’ clipped cross and then replicating the act but looping the ball back across goal and into the net after Luka Modric’s superb long cross fell square on his forehead.
The rest of the first half was back-and-forth, but Chelsea eventually settled down and established some momentum.
Jorginho’s wonderful raised through pass picked out Havertz, whose downward header had enough strength to beat Courtois’ arm as they halved the deficit through one of their own headers.
Before the halftime, Benzema missed a wonderful chance for a hat-trick when he steered the ball wide inside the area after further superb work from strike partner Vinicius.
Chelsea had started clawing their way back into the game, towards the end of the first half and were continuing that at the start of the second, when goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s blunder allowed Real – and Benzema – a third.
The goalkeeper, whose sterling displays and sharp reflexes had saved Chelsea countless times, ran out to control the ball, but he misjudged an easy pass to Rudiger. It went straight to Benzema, who slid the ball into the empty net with appreciation.
Five minutes later, Cesar Azpilicueta must have believed he had cut the lead in half again, but Courtois made a fantastic save to tip Azpilicueta’s drive around the post as it was heading for the top corner.
Chelsea’s greatest chances came with 20 minutes remaining in the game. When a deflected cross found substitute Romelu Lukaku unattended in the box, he somehow steered it wide with his head, missing a wonderful chance to add his name to the headed goals of the match.
Mason Mount ran onto a loose ball a minute later and fired a shot towards goal, but it simply soared over the net. And, then it was over with a result that leaves Chelsea with no choice than to beat Real by three goals if they are to continue with the dream of defending their UCL title.
With this result following the 4-1 loss to Brenford on Saturday, Chelsea will have to go back to the drawing board and find a way to prevent Benzema from adding to his 11 Champions League goals this season and outscore Carlo Ancelotti’s side in Madrid.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
