It was Chelsea who beat Real Madrid last season and advanced to the final - the payback was in the minds of Real Madrid players and Carlo Ancelotti. And, ultimately, they drew first blood in the quarterfinals of the Champions League courtesy of King Karim Benzema.
That is six goals in two Champions League games for Benzema. Three against Paris Saint-German (PSG), three more last night.
What a player he has turned out to be. After the many claims for Gareth Bale and the emerging talent of Vinicius Junior, it is Benzema who has blossomed outside the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo.
This was his 37th goal in 36 matches in 2021-22 and his 11th in the Champions League, a record for a French player.
Okay forget about the numbers, and this was simply a masterclass in the art of finishing and leading the line.
Benzema choked the life out of Chelsea’s back-line.
He crept upon them like Iron Man, he vanished into thin air like Batman and reappeared like Superman when they least expected it, he made them jittery and error-prone like Spiderman.
His two first-half headers were fabulous, powerful, and accurate in equal measure, and his third less than a minute after the second-half restart, ripped the heart out of Chelsea’s revival.
Well, the defending champions have a mountain to climb now.
The last time Chelsea were six in arrears at home, Ken Bates was chairman and it was a previous century. Michael Hughes scored an equalizer for Wimbledon on December 26, 1997 – and on January 4, 1998, Manchester United raced to a 5-0 lead in an FA Cup tie. A lot of water has passed under the Bridge since then, as they say.
Madrid could have been a goal up even earlier had the excellent Vinicius Junior not hit the bar after just 15 minutes. Fede Valverde, also impressive, was played in by Benzema’s lovely backheel and slipped the ball across to Vinicius, who left Mendy clutching at air, but was thwarted by the bar. And then it was Benzema’s show.
The two in three minutes knocked Chelsea through a loop but it was the third, scored so early in the second half, that reduced Tuchel’s plans to ashes.
Chelsea had pulled one back by then, Stamford Bridge was boisterous and loud with anticipation.
Benzema curbed that enthusiasm.
Real Madrid’s first showed what makes him such an exceptional talent. He was crucial to the build-up, playing a sweet one-two with Vinicius, before delaying his run into the box just enough to take up a position out of reach of the central defenders.
Vinicius had enough time to check Benzema’s position and cut the ball back, and the striker simply steered his header past Mendy with the power of a shot. There was so much control in the touch, such accuracy, that the goalkeeper was helpless.
Just three minutes later, same again.
This time it was the ageless Luka Modric providing from the right side and Benzema again timing his arrival to perfection, checking and getting between Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen to send another header, loopier this time but entirely intended, into a distant corner away from Mendy. In that instant, the tie looked done.
And it may well have been had Benzema completed his hat-trick before half-time.
It was his only mistake, missing after Vinicius had cut another one back from the by-line. By then, Chelsea had scored, too. A deep ball from Jorginho, was met by Kai Havertz’s stooping header five minutes before half-time. A lifeline – swiftly retracted by Benzema within seconds of the half-time restart.
A long clearance upfield was harvested by Mendy 30 yards from goal but, under little pressure, he played a desperately poor pass to Antonio Rudiger. The defender was left in trouble, but compounded the error with one of his own, getting a touch but only into the path of Benzema who passed it into an empty net from distance. A dismal Madrid audition for Rudiger but a landmark for Benzema, whose 11th Champions League goal beat a European Cup record set by the French legend, Just Fontaine, for Reims in 1958-59.\
had never beaten Chelsea, in five previous meetings. That changed on Wednesday night.
More drama to come, perhaps!
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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