Chelsea vs Real Madrid - LIVE!
Karim Benzema bullied Chelsea to the brink of relinquishing their Champions League crown with a stunning hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 3-1 triumph at Stamford Bridge.
The prolific striker moved his competition goal return to 13 in just seven matches as Madrid overwhelmed the Blues in Wednesday’s quarter-final first-leg.
Benzema took his season’s tally to 37 goals in 36 matches for Real, handing his side a major chance of making the semi-finals in their bid to land a 14th Champions League title.
The 34-year-old stalked the beleaguered Andreas Christensen like a heavyweight prize fighter closing off the ring to a frenzied and frazzled foe.
Kai Havertz dragged Chelsea back into the contest from nowhere before half-time, but the luckless Edouard Mendy gifted Benzema his hat-trick goal with an undersold pass.
Chelsea will now need a performance to trump perhaps all others from Thomas Tuchel’s highly-decorated reign to overturn this deficit in Madrid’s intimidating Bernabeu Stadium.
