Real Madrid have stunned Chelsea at Stamford Bridge as Karim Benzema’s hat-trick lead the visitors to a 3-1 victory in their Champions League quarter-final first leg.
A disastrous 4-1 loss to Brentford at home on Saturday proved to be more than a blip as Thomas Tuchel’s men were beset by basic mistakes against the La Liga leaders.
Benzema, fresh from the treble that sunk Paris St-Germain in the last 16, broke the deadlock when he connected on Vinicius Junior’s cross with a flying header.
The 34-year-old doubled the advantage three minutes later with another header against a hapless Chelsea defence.
Kai Havertz seemed to get Chelsea back in the game by scoring a header five minutes before the break.
But the hard work was undone just moments after the restart when goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s poor clearance gifted a hat-trick to Benzema.
Real head back to the Santiago Bernabeu with a commanding two-goal cushion, although it is not as strong as when the away goals rule applied.
Chelsea must re-group before Saturday’s clash with Southampton, hoping they can build some momentum for next week’s second leg in Madrid.
Speaking after the game, Real manager Carlo Ancelotti warned his players to get complacent after the emphatic win.
He told BBC Sport: “Played well. Good control of the game, good build up from the back, dangerous counterattack. It was a good night but it is only the first half of this round.
“It was really good. We showed good organisation defensively. We had a fantastic performance up front from Benzema. A good performance.
“We have an advantage. We have to prepare for the next game in the league and then Tuesday will be another game. We have a lot of respect for this team who were the winners of the last Champions League.”
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