Report from the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Stamford Bridge as holders Chelsea left with mountain to climb as 13-time winners Real Madrid seize first-leg advantage thanks to Karim Benzema treble
Thursday 7 April 2022 07:00, UK
Chelsea must overturn a two-goal deficit at Real Madrid to salvage their Champions League defence after Karim Benzema's hat-trick secured a 3-1 quarter-final first-leg victory over the error-strewn holders at Stamford Bridge.
Benzema dispatched two exquisite headers in three first-half minutes at a rain-drenched Stamford Bridge as Madrid set about avenging last season's semi-final defeat to Thomas Tuchel's reigning European champions in perfect fashion.
Kai Havertz grabbed a lifeline for Chelsea before half-time, but it evaporated 46 seconds after the restart when Edouard Mendy vacated his area and played an under-hit pass to Antonio Rudiger, which put Benzema's hat-trick clinching goal on a plate.
Substitute Romelu Lukaku spurned two chances to reduce arrears as Chelsea's comeback efforts came up short on a night of acute frustration which ended with the Blues' Champions League defence hanging in the balance ahead of next week's return at the Bernabeu.
Chelsea's attempt to blow Real Madrid away with a blistering start ultimately contributed to their early demise, with their eagerness to attack leaving chasms in midfield and at the back for Real to exploit, which they very nearly did inside 10 minutes, when Vinicius Junior rattled the crossbar.
The hosts' worst fears were realised on 21 minutes when Vinicius' third successful take-on against Andreas Christensen ended with the Brazilian floating a cross into the area which Benzema emphatically headed home at the near post.
One quickly became two, with Benzema heading in Luka Modric's sumptuous cross within three minutes to stun Stamford Bridge and leave Chelsea's Champions League defence hanging perilously.
Madrid carved out further chances to deepen Chelsea's plight, with Eder Militao heading straight at Mendy from a corner before Dani Carvajal's shot squirmed agonisingly under the Chelsea goalkeeper and Christensen desperately cleared.
But having avoided further damage, Chelsea got themselves back into the game five minutes before the break, when Jorginho's looping cross found the head of Havertz, and his effort evaded the diving Thibaut Courtois.
Chelsea's hope would last less than a minute after the interval, with Benzema pouncing on Mendy's moment of madness to intercept his weak pass to Rudiger and complete successive Champions League hat-tricks with a composed finish into the unguarded net.
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta forced a stunning fingertip save from Courtois as Madrid repelled Chelsea's increasing desperate attempts to carve a route back into the tie. The introduction of Lukaku on 64 minutes looked to have given Chelsea the second lifeline they were after, but he headed two presentable chances wide as Madrid held on to their healthy first-leg lead.
Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel: "Today, is this [tie] alive with this performance? No, not at the moment. We have to find ourselves again, I don't know where we have been since international break. Tonight was a repetition of the second half against Brentford in a quarter-final against Real Madrid. Five days, seven goals conceded. It's alarming.
"With everything the game demands, you cannot expect a result from this kind of performance. We were so far off our level, tactically, individually, in shape, in challenges. We tried to play in a new formation and killed the game off with a big mistake.
"It's never on one player or players, it's on all of us, including myself. Individually we lost shape and sharpness. Since the international break we have obviously not looked the same and I don't really have an explanation."
Sky Sports' Jack Wilkinson:
Saturday's humbling at the hands of Brentford was supposed to be a blip, but it was compounded by another calamitous Chelsea outing on a night of acute frustration at Stamford Bridge.
An evening which started with the reigning European champions intent at laying down a marker at the quarter-final stage, ended with a sobering Champions League clinic being administered by the 13-time winners.
Chelsea's defence - and season - hangs in the balance. With the Premier League title long gone, defending their European crown was the last big prize on offer to Thomas Tuchel's side but, now, not even the German can make a case for a comeback.
When in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Tuchel became the only manager in Champions League history to see a two-goal first-leg lead overturned on home soil when Manchester United knocked the Parisians out at the last-16 stage of the 2018/19 campaign.
Tuchel will need no reminding of that defeat, one he labelled "painful and cruel", particularly while his latest managerial venture stoops into uncharted lows. But that is the task now placed in front of Chelsea, and the message is clear - salvage your season while they still have one.
Chelsea travel to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday at 3pm, before travelling to Real Madrid for their Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday at 8pm.
