Chelsea vs Real Madrid LIVE: Champions League result, final score and reaction as Benzema scores hat-trick
Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid: Re action from the first leg of the quarter-final clash at Stamford Bridge
Karim Benzema scored a scintillating hat-trick to put Real Madrid in control of their Champions League quarter-final against Chelsea, with a 3-1 victory at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman netted two sublime headers in the first half and, although Kai Havertz pulled one back for Chelsea with a header of his own before half-time, Benzema capitalised on a clanger from Edouard Mendy early in the second period to make it 3-1.
It was an incredibly entertaining, open game in west London but the Blues have it all to do in Madrid next week to take the defence of their Champions League trophy to the semi-final stage.
The contest is a rematch of one of last season’s semi-finals, where the Premier League side emerged as 3-1 aggregate winners, but this time they will have to produce an almighty European comeback to set up a last-four clash with either Manchester City or Atletico Madrid.
Follow all the reaction from Stamford Bridge below:
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Christian Pulisic put in a fantastic performance against Real Madrid at Stamford Bridge last season and the American is looking forward to taking on the La Liga leaders again tonight.
The Chelsea midfielder said: “We got a good result [against them] last year and hope to do the same this year. It’s a Champions League knockout game and it won’t be easy, but given we won it all last season, we should feel confident.”
Thomas Tuchel defends handling of Andreas Christensen contract saga
Thomas Tuchel insists his public efforts to try to convince Andreas Christensen to sign a new Chelsea deal did not backfire.
Denmark defender Christensen is understood to be on the brink of completing a free-transfer move to Barcelona this summer.
Christensen appeared close to completing terms on a new Chelsea contract in November, with Tuchel even challenging the 25-year-old to commit to the Stamford Bridge club in order to fulfil his rich potential.
Christensen changed agents in December however, and the arrival of new advisers ushered in an apparent change of heart on his long-term future.
Barcelona expect to take Christensen to the Nou Camp in the summer, with Chelsea boss Tuchel insisting any decision from the Denmark star must be respected.
Thomas Tuchel defends handling of Andreas Christensen contract saga
The defender appeared close to signing a new deal with Chelsea before an apparent change of mind
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Thomas Tuchel makes four changes to the Chelsea team that lost to Brentford at the weekend. Andreas Christensen and Reece James are recalled to bolster the back-line.
Jorginho partners N’Golo Kante in midfield Christian Pulisic starts up top alongisde Kai Havertz and Mason Mount.
Marcos Alonso, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech are the players who drop out.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
And here’s Chelsea’s line-up:
Chelsea XI: Mendy, Christensen, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Kante, Jorginho, Azpilicueta, Mount, Havertz, Pulisic
Why Chelsea’s blip against Brentford should not be cause for great concern
This time last year, as Thomas Tuchel’s reinvention of Chelsea began with a remarkable 14 game unbeaten streak, something strange occurred. On what was supposed to be a routine afternoon at Stamford Bridge against relegation-bound West Brom, Chelsea were unceremoniously throttled to a 5-2 defeat by the cold hand of Sam Allardyce. The result was not just an upset but an exercise in crashing and burning, with the debris settling somewhere near the bottom of a pint of wine. The scoreline inevitably provoked an immediate inquest and theories abounded over what mysterious virus might have emerged in Tuchel’s meticulously engineered machine.
Instead, of course, within the next two months Chelsea went on to secure fourth place and win the Champions League. The blip against West Brom was nothing more than a glitch in the mainframe. It was, essentially, rendered almost entirely meaningless. Chelsea went above and beyond their expectations, West Brom succumbed to the indignity of relegation, and Allardyce, perhaps, spent his summer holiday on the Costa del Sol wondering why Florentino Perez hadn’t yet made the trip south.
There were certain parallels with Chelsea’s equally emphatic 4-1 defeat by Brentford on Saturday. Well, not for Brentford it should be said, who played to such an electric counterattacking rhythm it amounted to a form of shock therapy for Chelsea’s defence, who lost their wits entirely during a blistering eleven-minute spell in the second half. Thomas Frank’s side were daring and resilient, inspired by Christian Eriksen’s miraculous return but far from riding on its coattails. Three points should all but ensure them of survival this season and there can be few arguments that Brentford deserve anything less.
Why Chelsea’s blip should not be cause for great concern
The Blues were unceremoniously thrashed 4-1 at home but certain parallels offer a more positive perspective
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Chelsea’s 14-game unbeaten run in all competitions (12 wins, two draws) was ended on Saturday when they went down 4-1 at home to London rivals Brentford at Stamford Bridge, their first defeat against the Bees since 1939.
The four goals conceded at the weekend was as many as in Chelsea’s seven previous home matches in all competitions combined, a run that included four clean sheets.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Goals from Timo Werner (28) and Mason Mount (85) secured a 2-0 second-leg victory at Stamford Bridge last season as Chelsea went on to beat Real Madrid 3-1 in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
The first leg in Spain had finished 1-1, with Christian Pulišić’s 14th-minute opener for the visitors cancelled out by Karim Benzema 15 minutes later.
The teams had met in only three previous fixtures before last season – in two finals which were both won by Chelsea, who are therefore still unbeaten against Madrid.
Their previous meeting before 2021 came in the 1998 Uefa Super Cup in Monaco, when a Gustavo Poyet goal seven minutes from time at the Stade Louis II gave Uefa Cup Winners’ Cup holders Chelsea a 1-0 victory against Madrid, who had qualified by winning the Champions League.
The English club also came out on top in the 1971 European Cup Winners’ Cup final against Madrid in Piraeus. The first game finished 1-1, Peter Osgood’s 56th-minute goal at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium cancelled out in the final minute by Ignacio Zoco.
Two days later at the same stadium, first-half goals from John Dempsey (31) and Osgood again (39) earned Chelsea their first European trophy despite Sebastián Fleitas pulling one back for Madrid 15 minutes from time.
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
This is the second time in as many seasons that Real Madrid and Chelsea have met each other in the knockout stages of the Champions League.
Last year the Blues defeated Real 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals and went on to lift the trophy with a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the final. Can they beat Real again this time around?
Real Madrid goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, doesn’t think so: “Last season’s tie was different. There were no fans and it was at the semi-final stage. We’re all feeling really good and know what’s at stake. If we produce the right levels of intensity, we’re capable of winning.”
Chelsea vs Real Madrid
Thomas Tuchel gave his thoughts before tonight’s quarter-final tie and said that he is excited for what will be a special occasion at Stamford Bridge.
The Chelsea manager said: “We should be very aware that teams with this kind of quality, flair and experience can produce a special occasion. For us, it’s also a special occasion and it’s why we feel pretty excited.”
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