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Karim Benzema scored a second successive Champions League hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1 in their quarter-final first leg.
Benzema’s treble came just four weeks after doing the same against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the Champions League round of 16Â helped Carlo Ancelotti’s side take command of the tie at Stamford Bridge.
Benzema, France international put the 13-time European champions in control with a brace of first-half headers, before capitalising on Edouard Mendy’s mistake to complete his hat-trick 46 seconds after the restart.
Read Also: Benzema bags hat-trick as Real Madrid dump PSG out of Champions League
Kai Havertz grabbed what proved to be a consolation for the reigning champions, who have work to do in the second leg next week after suffering their first ever defeat against Madrid.
Madrid took the lead in the 21st minute when Benzema released Vinicius down the left flank before brilliantly powering a 14-yard header into the top corner.
The visitors were in dreamland just three minutes later as Benzema wonderfully guided Luka Modric’s fizzed cross beyond Edouard Mendy to take his tally in this season’s Champions League into double figures.
Chelsea responded five minutes before the break with Havertz ghosting into the box to head home an inviting centre by Jorginho.
But the hosts were architects of their downfall within a minute of the restart. An alert Benzema intercepted Mendy’s poor square ball to Antonio Rudiger, before sliding into the empty net for his 10th goal in four matches across all competitions.
Thomas Tuchel’s side looked to respond and Cesar Azpilicueta’s long-range thunderbolt drew a magnificent save out of Courtois, while Romelu Lukaku headed wide from eight yards out.
Mason Mount was then whiskers away from seeing his curling 25-yard effort nestle in the top corner, but the Blues suffered their first loss in nine European games against Spanish opposition.
Opta Facts
Real Madrid have now beaten the holders of the Champions League in each of their last four such encounters, and for the sixth time in total – now the outright most of any side in the history of the competition (Juventus 5).
Chelsea have suffered back-to-back home defeats for only the second time under Thomas Tuchel, also doing so in April last year. The Blues have also shipped three or more goals in consecutive matches at Stamford Bridge for the first time since October 2012.
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema (11) has now scored more goals than any other Frenchman in a single European Cup/Champions League campaign, moving one clear of Just Fontaine’s 10-goal tally back in 1958-59.
Since the formation of the Champions League in 1992-93, only one of the previous 43 sides has overturned a first-leg deficit of two or more goals going into the second leg away from home, with Manchester United beating Paris Saint-Germain at the last-16 stage in 2018-19.
What’s next?
The two sides renew their rivalry in the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu next Tuesday. Before that, Madrid host Getafe in LaLiga on Saturday, while Chelsea travel to Southampton in the Premier League.