Karim Benzema scored a second successive UEFA Champions League hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1 in their quarter-final first leg.
Benzema’s Treble – in just four weeks did the same against Paris Saint-Germain in the 16th round – helped Carlo Ancelotti’s side take over at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman put the European champions 13 times in the first round before he used Edouard Mendy’s error to end his hat-trick 46 seconds in a fresh start.
Kai Havertz held what seemed to be a consolation for the reigning champions, who have work to do in the second leg next week after their first defeat to Madrid.
Madrid took the lead in the 21st minute when Benzema released Vinicius down the left before setting up a 14-yard header in the top corner.
The visitors were in the dream zone just three minutes later as Benzema miraculously guided Luka Modric’s moving ball past Edouard Mendy to double his Champions League appearances this season.
Chelsea responded five minutes before the break when Havertz put the ghost in the box to return home to the center inviting Jorginho.
But the uninitiated were the builders of their fall within a minute of the resumption. A cautious Benzema blocked Mendy’s foul ball from Antonio Rudiger, before slipping into the empty net with his 10th goal in four games in all competitions.
Thomas Tuchel’s side looked set to respond and Cesar Azpilicueta’s long thunderbolt knocked out Courtois, and Romelu Lukaku came out eight yards out.
Mason Mount at the time had not seen his 25-yard effort in the top corner, but the Blues lost for the first time in nine European games against Spanish opponents.
