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UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid defeated reigning European champions Chelsea 3-1 in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, thanks to a hat-trick by veteran striker Karim Benzema, which included two excellent headed goals in the space of three first-half minutes. Benzema, 34, completed his hat-trick shortly after halftime, capitalizing on a mistake by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to put the Spaniards in command of the tie ahead of Tuesday’s second leg in Madrid.
Kai Havertz gave the Blues hope in the 40th minute when he headed in an angled feed from Jorginho to make it 2-1.
Chelsea’s ambitions of pulling off a comeback were dashed in the 46th minute when Mendy attempted to pass to Antonio Rudiger outside his box, only for Benzema to intercept and guide the ball into an empty net for his 37th goal of the season.
Benzema’s Hat-trick
The France striker stunned Chelsea by converting perfect crosses with headers, first from Vinicius Jr on the left in the 21st minute and then from Luka Modric on the right in the 24th, leaving Mendy helpless. Just before halftime, Benzema looked set to get his hat-trick, but he blasted wide with Chelsea’s typically rock-solid defence looking ragged.
“These are critical objectives. I’m most pleased to have scored the third goal because I missed one in the first half and was thinking about it because scoring goals is crucial. Then I got another, which makes me extremely happy,” Benzema said on Spanish television.
“We came out today to win and prove that we are Real Madrid.” Things went well for us since we played well from the opening to the last minute.”
The Spaniards were out for vengeance after the Londoners knocked them out in the semi-finals last season, just before the Blues won the cup in Porto. Vinicius Jr’s shot against the bar in the 10th minute served as an early warning flag for the Londoners.
Chelsea attempted to come back in the second half, with replacement Romelu Lukaku – the club’s record signing who has struggled to fit in at Stamford Bridge – heading barely wide after a deflected ball fell to him on the edge of the six-yard box in the 69th minute.
Hakim Ziyech, who was also on as a replacement, scored from 13 yards in the dying moments. Real, who have won the European Cup 13 times but had never beaten Chelsea before, are now in pole position to meet either Manchester City or crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid in the semi-finals.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti praised his team’s control of the game and the danger they posed on the counterattack after spending two years as Chelsea’s head coach and leading the Blues to the Premier League and FA Cup double in 2009/10. The BBC paraphrased him as stating, “It was a good night, but it’s only the first half of this round.”
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