Benzema blows Chelsea away with hat-trick in UCL

Real Madrid thrashed Chelsea at Stamford Bridge by 3-1 on Wednesday in the first leg of the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League (UCL).

Karim Benzema was the star of the show, netting a stunning hat-trick to leave Thomas Tuchel's holders on the brink of a UCL exit, but Chelsea will be furious at the nature of Madrid's third, with Mendy's shocking error gifting the visitors a two-goal advantage less than a minute into the second half.

Chelsea suffered two comprehensive home defeats in a matter of days after being thrashed 4-1 by Brentford on Saturday. Tuchel's men will need a massive performance to overhaul this deficit in Madrid, where Benzema will surely be confident of adding to his 11 UCL goals for the season.