Jonathan Liew on Karim Benzema (and co)
Thomas Tuchel speaks!
Carlo Ancelotti: “We had good control of the game, were dangerous on the counter-attack,” says Real’s manager in an interview with BT Sport. “It was a good night but it is only half-time and we have to look forwards.
“We showed good organisation, Benzema was fantastic. We found space between the lines. We have an advantage but on Tuesday it will be another game - they are the winners of the Champions League.”
Karim Benzema: “They’re magic nights, like the other day at the Bernabéu against Paris,” the Real striker tells Movistar Plus. “Today we came out to win, to show we’re Real Madrid. Things worked out well for us as we played well, from the first minute to the last.”
On his goals: “They’re very important goals. I’m happiest to have scored the third as I missed one in the first half and I was thinking about that chance because it’s very important to score goals. Then I got another and I’m very happy.”
Match report: Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid
Champions League: Sometimes there is nothing else to do but sit back and marvel at the majesty of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema, whose clinical hat-trick leaves Chelsea’s defence of their European title hanging by a thread, writes Jacob Steinberg from Stamford Bridge.
Meanwhile in Spain: Villarreal have won the first leg of their quarter-final against Bayern Munich thanks to goal from Arnaut Danjuma.
Full time: Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeep! It’s all over at Stamford Bridge, where a hat-trick from Karim Benzema hat-trick has left Chelsea with a mountain to climb at the Bernabeu in the second leg next week. Kai Havertz scored one for the hosts, who squandered several good chances in the second half.
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90+4 min: Ziyech sends a cross into the Real Madrid penalty area from the right after good link-up play with Reece James. Dani Cabellos heads clear.
90+3 min: Hakim Ziyech snatches at a shot after being teed up by Lukaku in the Real Madrid penalty area. He sends his effort high over the bar.
90+1 min: Nacho and Havertz go to ground holding their respective heads after an aerial collision. We’ll have a minimum of five minutes of added time.
89 min: Rudiger scoops the ball over the Real Madrid defence, trying to pick out Lukaku. Wide.
88 min: Nacho and Romelu Lukaku have a frank exchange of views, the former pointing aggressively at the latter while appearing to accuse him of an off the ball dig.
87 min: Real Madrid double substitution: Gareth Bale and Dani Ceballos on for Federico Valverde and hat-trick hero Karim Benzema.
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85 min: Referee Clement Turpin halts play and a vaguely promising Chelsea attack after Federico Valverde goes down with cramp. Boos ring around Stamford Bridge.
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84 min: Reece James brings a save out of Thibaut Courtouis with a rasping effort that bounces in front of the goalkeeper. Nacho reacts quickest and hacks the breaking ball clear before Ruben Loftus-Cheek can pounce.
83 min: Another ball from deep inside the Real Madrid penalty area finds its way to Eduoard Mendy. He manages to pass this one a couple of yards to Antonio Rudiger without hilarious consequences.
81 min: Gareth Bale is preparing to come on for Real Madrid.
79 min: On for Toni Kroos, Eduardo Canvinga is turned by Kai Havertz, who shoots straight at Courtois from inside the Real penalty area.
78 min: Nacho finds himself in space, advancing down the inside right. He squares the ball but delivers behind Valverde.
75 min: Real seem to have weathered a brief Chelsea second half storm. Can Thomas Tuchel’s men rally themselves for the final 15 minutes?
71 min: Chelsea are laying siege to the Real Madrid goal and win a corner. Ziyech’s outswinger is missed by two defenders and catches Thiago Silva by surprise. The ball clanks off his knee and bounces wide.
70 min: Another chance for Chelsea, as Mason Mount runs on to a breaking ball and sends a curling effort from 25 yards inches over the upright.
69 min: Unmarked on the edge of the Real Madrid six yard box, Romelu Lukaku sends a header wide of the far post. That’s an awful miss.
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Premier League: Who will Frank Lampard blame now that Burnley have beaten Everton by the odd goal of five at Turf Moor?
66 min: Valvarde advances down the right flank for Real Madrid but is forced backwards. Modric picks up the ball but is dispossessed by Mount. Moments later, Havertz wins a free-kick wide on the left after being fouled by Ferland Mendy.
63 min: Lots of huff and puff from Chelsea but to little effect. Eder Militao succumbs to injury and is replaced by Nacho. Chelsea double-substitution: Romelu Lukaku and Ruben Loftus-Cheek on for Jorginho and Christian Pulisic.
60 min: There’s a break in play as Eder Militao receives treatment for an injury. He limps off the pitch to receive further running repairs and play resumes with a Chelsea throw-in.
58 min: Just inside the Real penalty area, Christian Pulisic shifts the ball on to his left foot and floats the ball harmlessly towards Courtois at the near post.
55 min: It is worth noting that, despite being 77 years old or thereabouts, ion the build-up to that third goal, Karim Benzema sprinted from inside his own half just on the off-chance that Edouard Mendy might mess up his pass to Antonio Rudiger after advancing from his penalty area to deal with a ball from deep. The Chelsea goalkeeper duly obliged and Benzema took full advantage.
50 min: Thibaut Courtois saves brilliantly from a rising Cesar Azpilicueta effort from distance, pushing the ball over with his fingertips. Nothing comes from the corner.
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49 min: Anyway, before I was rudely interrupted I was trying to tell you about Mateo Kovacic coming on for Andreas Christensen and Chelsea switching to a back four. That’s worked out well for them. Hakim Ziyech is on too, replacing N’Golo Kante.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid (Benzema 46)
A disaster for Chelsea. Fielding a ball over the top, Mendy comes out of his penalrty area and sells Rudiger short with a short pass. Benzema steals in, nicks the ball and rolls it into a gaping goal. Already on a yellow card, Rudiger was unable to foul him and his challenge was half-hearted.
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Second half: Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid
46 min: Andreas Christensen got the run-around from Vinicius Junior in the first half and has been given the half-time hook ... more of which anon.
Champions League: Daniel Harris has the latest from the quarter-final first leg between Villarreal and Bayern Munich.
Premier League: There have been four goals so far in the Premier League encounter between Burnley and Everton at Turf Moor - find out who scored them with Tim de Lisle ...
A quick recap: Real Madrid went two goals up courtesy of a pair of sublime headers from Karim Benzema but were pegged back by a Kai Havertz headed effort on 40 minutes. There’s only a goal in it but Benzema missed a glorious opportunity to score his hat-trick just before half-time.
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Half-time: Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid
Peep: Real Madrid finish a splendidly entertaining first half on the front foot and go in at the break leading by the odd goal of three.
44 min: Kai Havertz controls a pull-back from James on the edge of the area and tries to curl the ball inside Thibaut’s far post. High and wide.
42 min: Another Real Madrid counter-attack and Benzema misses an absolute sitter after being teed up by a combination of a Vinicius Junior cross and a poor Jorginho interception. With the goal gaping, he sends his low effort wide of the far post when you’d have bet the farm on him to score.
GOAL! Chelsea 1-2 Real Madrid (Havertz 40)
Another header!!! Jorginho stands the ball up on the edge of the six-yard box after receiving a pass inside from James. Unmarked, Kai Havertz sends a bullet header past Courtois.
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37 min: Reece James drills a cross into the Real penalty area, trying to pick out ... N’Golo Kante, of all people on the edge of the six-yard box. Militao clears for a corner. From the set-piece, Thiago Silva heads over the bar.
35 min: N’Golo Kante tries a shot from distance but sends the ball drifting high and harmlessly wide of the Real goal.
33 min: Dani Carvajal starts a move deep inside his own half and tries to finish with a side-footed effort on goal from six yards. Mendy saves unconvincingly and Andreas Christensen hacks the ball clear. Chelsea are on the ropes.
Karim Benzema has now scored 5 goals in his last 52 minutes of Champions League football for Real Madrid.
— Get Spanish Football News (@GSpanishFN) April 6, 2022
30 min: Another header - this time as Militao connects with the inswinger. He steers the ball straight into the hands of Edouard Mendy.
29 mins: A mix-up at the back for Chelsea results in Reece James giving away a very cheap corner.
28 min: Real lead courtesy of two wonderful headed goals from Karim Benzema. Luka Modric provided the assist for the second, courtesy of a nice little dink from the inside right as Real broke upfield on a counter-attack.
26 min: The Chelsea supporters behind Thibaut Courtois’s goal scream for a penalty as Kai Havertz goes to ground under a “challenge” from Casemiro. French referee Clement Turpin is having none of it - the charitable view would suggest Havertz fell over.
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GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 Real Madrid (Benzema 24)
Benzema heads home a second! Real Madrid double their lead, with their French striker guiding a glorious header across the face of goal and inside the far post while leaning backwards to reach the cross.
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23 min: Toni Kroos is on the floor again, holding his shin after coming out second best from a tussle with Jorginho. Play resumes quickly.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 Real Madrid (Benzema 21)
What a header! Karim Benzema sends Real Madrid in front with a splendid effort into the top corner from 12 yards after getting on the end of a Vinicius Junior pull-back.
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20 min: Mason Mount tries to head a ball from deep across the face of the Real goal but nods the ball straight into the hands of Courtois.
18 min: Thibaut Courtois continues to get booed any time the ball comes his way. Antonio Rudiger gets booked for a foul on Federico Valverde just inside the Chelsea half.
14 min: The first quarter hour has flown by, with neither team asserting dominance. From a Chelsea free-kick, Eder Militao is booked for a foul on a Kai Havertz just outside the Real penalty area.
He was in a real panic as the German got the run on him and wrestled him to the ground. Reece James takes the free-kick and his low curler brings a fairly straightforward save out of Courtois.
12 min: There’s been a goal in the game between Villarreal and Bayern Munich - but for who, Daniel Harris?
11 min: Chelsea corner. Mason Mount, looking like a drowned rat in the pouring rain, fails to clear the first man.
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10 min: Andreas Christensen slips and Vinicius Junior thumps the ball against the cross-bar after receiving a deft backheel from Karim Benzema. He should have scored!
9 min: Mason Mount wins the ball in midfield and plays it wide to Reece James on the right touchline. Real Madrid win it back immediately.
7 min: A rather frenetic start is interrupted by an N’Golo Kante bodycheck on Toni Kroos in the centre-circle. Free-kick for Real Madrid as the German goes to ground holding his hip and wincing.
4 min: N’Golo Kante wins the ball halfway inside his own half and plays it forward for Kai Havertz to chase. He advances, then cuts inside Eder Militao before shooting high and wide.
3 min: Real enjoy a spell of possession and play the ball back towards Thibaut Courtois. The former Chelsea goalkeeper is mercilessly jeered by the home fans, as he was when his name was read out by the stadium announcer before kick-off.
Chelsea v Real Madrid is go ...
1 min: Chelsea get the ball rolling and it is sent wafting towards the right touchline. Mason Mount whips an excellent cross into the Real Madrid penalty area, where Dani Carvajal does just enough to prevent Christian Pulisic from sweeping home. A great start by the hosts.
Not long now: It’s has been bucketing down at Stamford Bridge, where the players of both sides are out on the pitch going through the last of the pre-match formalities. They line up either side of French referee Clement Turpin and his team of match officials ahead of the Champions League anthem, which is drowned out by noise from the stands.
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— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) April 6, 2022
Premier League: Burnley have taken an early lead in a massive six-pointer against Everton at the bottom of the top flight. Tim de Lisle has the latest ...
Chelsea v Real Madrid line-ups
Chelsea: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Mount, Pulisic, Havertz.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Alonso, Kovacic, Lukaku, Werner, Loftus-Cheek, Bettinelli, Chalobah, Saul, Ziyech, Kenedy, Sarr.
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Eder Militao, Alaba, Mendy, Modric, Casemiro, Kroos, Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Subs: Vallejo, Nacho, Asensio, Marcelo, Lunin, Lucas, Bale, Ceballos, Rodrygo, Mariano, Camavinga, Fuidias.
Referee: Clement Turpin (France)
Tonight’s match officials
- Referee: Clément Turpin
- Referee’s assistants: Nicolas Danos and Cyril Gringore
- Fourth official: Francois Letexier
- Video Assistant Referee: Jérôme Brisard
Thibaut Courtois: As Carlo Ancelotti didn’t fly in to London until today after posting a negative Covid test, he was unavailable for his media duties yesterday.
His son and assistant Davide had been expected to take his place on the touchline tonight, although his lack of a Uefa Pro License may have ruled him out. Chelsea old boy Thibaut Courtois was on hand to talk up Real Madrid’s chances.
“Last season’s tie was different,” he said of Real’s exit a year ago. “There were no fans and it was at the semi-final stage. This is a new season, it’s the first leg of the quarter-finals and we’re all feeling really good and know what’s at stake. We’ll be giving our all to win the game. If we produce the right levels of intensity, we’re capable of winning.”
Thomas Tuchel: “The Champions League is terribly hard all the time,” said Chelsea’s manager during his pre-match press conference. “It’s challenging and demanding of course. But at the same time is what we love. We can deal with it, but it’s what we choose and love. This is what we deal with. It’s nice to have these kinds of experiences.”
“We should be very aware that teams with this kind of quality, flair and experience can produce a special occasion. For us, it’s also a special occasion and it’s why we feel pretty excited. We want to prove a point to ourselves tomorrow. The occasion is special and the opponent is special. That is why we are excited.”
A stone in Real’s shoe: That’s how Chelsea were described in today’s edition of the Spanish sports daily Marca, given the difficulties Real endured against them in their previous encounters.
Chelsea beat Real in last season’s Champions League semi-final and have never lost to their Spanish visitors in – you’d have thought there would be more – five previous encounters dating back to 1971.
Early team news ...
Ben Chilwell remains a long-term absentee for CHelsea and is unlikely to feature again this season, while Callum Hudson-Odoi is unlikely to play tonight as he’s nursing a couple of different injuries to his back and achilles. Christian Pulisic is back in contention for a place in the starting line-up after being rested over the weekend following his late return from international duty with the USA.
The return to fitness of Reece James could prompt Thomas Tuchel to switch to a back three, with James and Marcos Alonso operating as wing-backs. Ruben Loftus-Cheek may make way from the side that lost against Brentford for Mateo Kovacic or Jorginho.
Eden Hazard is out for Real Madrid after undergoing potentially season-ending surgery and will not be reunited with his former Chelsea team-mates. Isco, Miguel Gutierrez and Luka Jovic are also sidelined for Los Blancos.
Champions League: Chelsea v Real Madrid
Chelsea host Real Madrid in the first leg of a mouthwatering quarter-final match-up that is nigh on impossible to call. The reigning champions booked their place in the last eight with a fairly straightforward win over Lille, while Real Madrid advanced courtesy of a commendable comeback against serial Champions League chokers Paris Saint-Germain. A comeback that was simultaneously surprising and monotonously predictable.
Having missed Real’s weekend La Liga win over Celta Vigo, Carlo Ancelotti returns to his old stomping ground, arriving the day after his team having finally tested negative for Covid after several days of trying.
Kick-off at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea got absolutely battered by Brentford on Saturday, is at 8pm (BST). Stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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