Miraculous against PSG in the round of 16, Real Madrid, leader of the Spanish championship was the favorite against a Chelsea team with an uncertain future.
While the first Anglo-Spanish duel played on Tuesday between Manchester City and Atlético Madrid had been deadly boring, this confrontation quickly offered great opportunities on both sides, at an unbridled pace.
In this game, it is often the teams with the best finishers in front who take over, and Karim Benzema has once again shown how unique his sense of goal is. After a superb combination with Vinicius, the former Lyonnais took over the Brazilian’s cross with an overpowering header to put his team in front of the scoreboard (21and).
The 4and player to register two consecutive hat-tricks in C1
But the KB9 festival was just beginning: three minutes later, the N.19 of the Blues was already going to score his team’s second goal, again with his head, on a center from Modric from the right (24and).
Shortly after the break, Benzema took advantage of an error by Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, guilty of an unsteady pass far from his goal, which allowed the Frenchman to recover the ball to register his second hat-trick in a row in C1 (46and), after the one made in the previous match against PSG.
Meanwhile, the German Havertz had reduced the gap for Chelsea (40and) of the head, but never in this part Chelsea did not seem able to undermine the superiority of Real Madrid.
On the strength of this lead which gives them a good chance of qualifying, Real Madrid was content to manage a meeting which they had well in hand. Lukaku’s entry for Chelsea hasn’t changed anything.
On the return, it is difficult to see how qualification for the semi-finals could escape such dominating Merengues. And if they continue their momentum, it is difficult to see how the golden ball, now awarded at the end of the season, could escape the inevitable Karim Benzema.