Hat-Trick Hero Benzema Punishes Sloppy Chelsea
07 April, 2022
Chelsea 1-3 Real Madrid
Real Madrid came away with a huge advantage from the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final after thrashing holders Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues made four changes from the humiliating defeat to Brentford, as Jorginho, Reece James, Andreas Christensen and Christian Pulisic were recalled while Los Blancos brought back Federico Valverde to form a front three with Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior.
In the frantic early exchanges, Vinicius Junior was denied the opener for Madrid by the frame of the goal but Benzema eventually broke the deadlock in the 21st minute with
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a brilliant header after a cross by the Brazilian. Benzema quickly doubled the lead for Carlo Ancelotti's charges just three minutes later and grabbed his brace with a header into the bottom corner after he peeled away from Thiago Silva to meet Luka Modric's cross.The game opened up, as Kai Havertz pulled a goal back for Chelsea just before the halftime break with a header into the far corner after a cross by Jorginho.
Thomas Tuchel's troops had a horrible start in the second stanza as they were 3-1 down within a minute from a restart after Benzema intercepted a poor back pass by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and scored into an empty net to complete his hat-trick.
Second-half substitute Romelu Lukaku missed a big chance for Chelsea 20 minutes before time and that proved decisive, as the Spanish giants held on to a big win to take to the Santiago Bernabeu.
Villarreal 0-1 Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich have been put on a back foot after a narrow 1-0 loss to Villarreal in the quarter-final first-leg at Estadio de la Ceramica.
The Bavarians made three changes from their win over Freiburg, as Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies were all recalled while Villarreal restored Giovani Lo Celso and Francis Coquelin into the line-up.
Unai Emery's charges had a perfect start as Arnaut Danjuma broke the deadlock in the eighth minute with a close-range finish after latching onto a scuffed effort by Daniel Pajero in the box.
Bayern had the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) to thank for not going 2-0 down just before the halftime break after Coquelin's cross that looped over goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and found the back of the net was chalked off for offside.
The Yellow Submarine had a bright start as early in the second stanza when Gerard Moreno was denied the second goal by the post, however Bayern were unable to find a way back into the contest as they now head back to Munich one goal down.
Source: www.soccerladuma.co.za
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