Keeper fails with serious consequences
Benzema takes away almost all CL hopes from Chelsea
4/6/2022 10:53 p.m
After Paris St. Germain, Chelsea are now also feeling the extra class of Karim Benzema. The French forward has brought Real Madrid very close in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-finals. A German national player gives the defending champion a bit of hope.
Kai Havertz still provided a little hope – in the end, however, Chelsea is on the verge of being eliminated from the Champions League: The defending champion around team manager Thomas Tuchel won the eagerly awaited quarter-final first leg against Real Madrid 1: 3 (1: 2 ) lost, next Tuesday in Spain the Blues now need a win by two goals – just to reach extra time.
National player Havertz prevented a hopeless endeavor with his goal (40th). The outstanding Karim Benzema (21st/24th/46th) led Madrid to victory with three goals in the London rain, Toni Kroos’ team now holds all the trumps. For the hosts, on the other hand, it was a first defeat in two respects: Tuchel and Chelsea FC had a flawless European Cup record against Real until Wednesday evening.
Even before the game, the English were by no means carefree. The much-needed change of ownership has still not been completed, the club has been in limbo since the sanctions against Roman Abramovich. Last Saturday, the 4-1 defeat against FC Brentford also shocked the environment.
Mendy’s bad pass to Rüdiger brings the decision
At the beginning Chelsea tried to make a determined appearance, Havertz had the first good chance after five minutes from an acute angle. On a wet pitch, however, the defensive around national player Antonio Rüdiger Real couldn’t get a grip on it in the early stages.
First, Vinicius Junior failed on the crossbar (10th), a little later Benzema silenced the fans at Stamford Bridge: The Frenchman used two extremely demanding headers – and Chelsea visibly struggled to regain their composure in the following minutes. Only shortly before the break, European champion Jorginho brought a cross from the half field to Havertz, the German headed.
Immediately after the restart, however, Edouard Mendy stole any momentum from the English: a harmless liberation hit landed at Chelsea’s goalkeeper, but he didn’t bring the ball cleanly to Rüdiger. Benzema jumped in and hit the empty goal.