Champions League
Chelsea 1-3 Real: The incredible Benzema gave a huge lead in qualifying with a new hat-trick
In the preliminary round it was Paris, in the quarter-finals of the Champions League Chelsea against whom Karim Benzema scored a hat-trick and put Real ahead after a 3-1 win at Stamford Bridge in qualifying.
The cosmetic adjectives for him Karim Benzema seem to be going out after the Frenchman’s new hat-trick (after that against Paris) that saw Real leave with a win 3-1 from “Stamford Bridge” against Chelsea to the first quarter-finals of the Champions League.
The Merengues forward scored two fantastic heads and after a mistake by Edouard Medi, the Blues scored with Kay Haverts and the Spaniards have the absolute lead in view of the next game at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Thomas Tuchel lined up the European and world champions without a striker but with… two strikers, Kay Haverts and Christian Pulisik. Carlo Ancelotti, who was found to be negative for coronavirus in time and flew to London on Wednesday morning, favored Federico Valverde’s energy down the right flank, with Benzema and Vinicius at the greatest offensive weight.
The ‘Blues’ had the ball on their feet for the first few minutes but couldn’t find a way to get close to the home of Thibaut Courtois (who was frowned upon by his former team’s friends). Counterattacks were the acceptable choice of threat for the guests, one of them in the 10th minute, Vinicius sent the ball to the crossbar.
A foul by Reese James forced Courtois to make an excellent save in the 15th minute and then Benzema got a job. In the 21st minute, he headed from behind the penalty spot and three minutes later with a false header, defeated Medi and gave the Spaniards a solid lead in qualifying.
The game picked up a frenetic pace in the final minutes of the first half, with the hosts scoring some endpoints and a goal through Haverts in the 40th minute and Benzema creating a unique four-on-four in which he sent the ball wide .
Thomas Tuchel changed the formation at the break and transformed the 3-4-3 into a 4-2-3-1 through the departures of Engolo Cande and Andreas Christensen. He paid for it seconds after the cross through a mistake by Medi that gave Benzema a hat-trick.
Everything seemed to be on track were it not for Eder Militao’s injury (who would surely miss the next game due to cards) and Romelos Loukakos’ entry. The Belgian striker immediately made two dangerous finals while Mason Mount and James did the same. Courtois was always there when needed, keeping the teams’ distance on the two goals.
The 3-1 gives Real a clear lead in qualifying and … revenge for last year’s exclusion with the same number of points (but in two games) in the semi-finals, but also for the five games of the two teams in the national cup, where the “merengues “They didn’t have a win. The next game is next Tuesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
CHELSEA: Medi, Silva, Christensen (46′ Kovacic), Riediger, James, Cante (46′ Ziges), Zorginio, Mount, Athpilicueta, Pulisik (64′ Lukaku), Haverts
REAL: Courtois, Carvajal, Militao (64′ Nacho), Alaba, Medi, Kroos (74′ Camavinga), Kazemiro, Montrich, Valverde (86′ Thebagios), Benzema (86′ Bale), Vinicius
The first quarterfinals of the Champions League
The second quarterfinals of the Champions League
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