Karim Benzema was unstoppable and the Frenchman punished Chelsea with a hat trick at Stamford Bridge in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter final.
Benzema scored a brace in the first half and added a third goal after the restart to put Real Madrid in the driver’s seat.
Chelsea’s only goal was scored by Kai Havertz as the Blues struggled to take their chances in the game, Romelu Lukaku was guilty of missing two good opportunities after he was introduced in the second half.
The second leg holds April 12 at the famous Santiago Bernabéu.
Wednesday’s win was Real Madrid’s revenge and saw them restore some pride in the head-to-head against the Blues.
Prior the game, Chelsea enjoyed a good run against Los Blancos including in their semi-final meeting last season in the UCL on their way to lifting the trophy.
In their last meeting at the Bridge, Chelsea were comfortable winners, putting two past Real Madrid and had earlier played out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at the Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium.
Danjuma finish Exquisite move in win over Bayern Munich
Meanwhile in Spain, Arnaut Danjuma thrust the dagger in the heart of Bayern Munich, helping Villarreal to a 1-0 first leg win in their quarter final match of the UEFA Champions League.
The Dutch international scored inside the opening eight minutes of the first half and despite several chances to build a comfortable lead at home, Unai Emery’s side couldn’t make that dominance count.
Samuel Chukwueze was given a run out. The youngster was brought on in the final nine minutes.
Villarreal secured a famous win against one of Europe’s best teams and it was the first time in the history of the Yellow Submarines.
The sides had only met twice in the past and on both occasions Bayern Munich had prevailed.
Both times in the same competition in 2011 and the Bundesliga side won by a total five goals and conceded just one goal.
Next up between the sides is the return leg of this season’s quarter final which comes up April 12.
