Mueez Ajaoo
– Karim Benzema continued his rampant form this season, with his hat trick leading Real Madrid past Chelsea in their Champions League quarter final first leg match on a rainy Wednesday night at Stamford Bridge.
Playing on his name, he practically ‘zhimmered’ and indeed more than shimmered but hammered the hosts.
– The Champions League holders had the better of the opening 20 minutes, but it was Real that opened the scoring when Benzema smashed a header into the top corner of Edouard Mendy’s goal from a stellar cross by Vinicius Junior.
– Benzema doubled the lead for Carlo Ancelotti’s side minutes later with another gorgeous header, leaning back and lofting his effort from Luka Modric’s pinpoint pass over the outstretched arms of Mendy to make it 2-0 to the visitors before 25 minutes.
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– Chelsea hit back just before the break, though, as Thibaut Courtois could only watch Kai Havertz power a header of his own from Jorginho’s delightful chipped-in ball past him to halve the deficit for Thomas Tuchel’s side after 45 thrilling minutes.
– Tuchel made two changes after the break — brining on Mateo Kovacic for Andreas Christensen and Hakim Ziyech for N’Golo Kante — but it was Real who started the second half in style as Benzema completed his hat trick thanks to a Mendy blunder that allowed the Frenchman to shoot into a wide open net.
– Benzema’s three goals took his tally to 36 across all competitions on the season, second only to the 45 Robert Lewandowski has scored for Bayern Munich in Europe’s top-five leagues, while breaking his own record as the oldest player to score a UCL hat trick at 34 years, 108 days.
– The struggling Romelu Lukaku came on for Christian Pulisic in the 64th minute and had a glorious chance soon after to cut into Real’s lead, but his glancing header from close range squirted wide of Courtois’ far post.
– The result means it’s advantage Real — who rode a Benzema hat trick to an unlikely round-of-16 rally past PSG — as the two teams prepare to meet again on Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu for the decisive second leg and a spot in the UCL semifinals.
