Real Madrid on Wednesday night defeat Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge for the first time in their history, thanks to a hat-trick from Karim Benzema.
Benzema becomes the fourth player to score a hat-trick in back-to-back Champions League appearances after Cristiano Ronaldo (2017), Lionel Messi (2016) and Luiz Adriano (2014).
Former Manchester United midfielder Rio Ferdinand even praised Benzema as ‘the best number 9 on the planet” and insisted the French striker should be engraved on the Ballon d’Or.
“He’s a talisman, now he’s the leader, and he’s stepped out of the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo. He is the best number 9 on the planet for me.” Ferdinand said.
“We can talk about Lewandowski, a great player. Harry Kane is back in the form as we all know, a great player. But Benzema at the moment is on another level.
“If they don’t carve his name on the Ballon d’Or at the end of the season,I’d be surprised.He’s a magician, his finishing is amazing, had a hat-trick and another hat-trick today. This man is the difference.” he added.
Benzema is really the nightmare of the Chelsea defense. He disappears and reappears when they least expect it, he makes them make mistakes.
His two first-half headers were superb, powerful and equally accurate, and his third less than a minute into the second half drowned Chelsea’s hopes of a turnaround.
Chelsea have a lot of work to do in the second leg. They weren’t at their best on Wednesday night and have been punished by the ever clinical Benzema who completed a hat-trick inside of 46 minutes.
Tuchel admitted Chelsea’s Champions League hopes are all but over after Carlo Ancelotti’s side ran out 3-1 winners at home.
“The momentum was back after we scored and we had the chance to equalise but decisions today were far from our level and standards. To come back with a chance like this for 3-2.” Tuchel said.
“We had 16 shots or something like this. Goals are crucial if we get them and we gave a third one away. That is simply impossible. We can’t demand if we turn things around if we do this.” he added.
