PARIS: Carlo Ancelotti hailed Karim Benzema’s “fantastic” hat-trick as he fired Real Madrid to a 3-1 win against Chelsea that put the Champions League holders on the brink of elimination after Wednesday’s quarter-final first leg.

Benzema produced a masterclass at Stamford Bridge as the France striker netted twice in the first half with two perfectly-taken headers in London.

Kai Havertz reduced the deficit before the interval, but Benzema punished a woeful mistake from Chelsea keeper Edouard Mendy in the second half to complete his treble.

It was the sublime Benzema’s second successive Champions League hat-trick after he single-handedly inspired their epic comeback against Paris St Germain in the last 16 second leg.

Ancelotti’s side are in pole position to advance to the semi-finals as they return to Madrid for the second leg on April 12.

“We had a fantastic performance up front from Benzema,” Ancelotti said. “He’s getting better every day like wine. We played well. It was a good night. We have an advantage but we have a lot of respect for this team who were the winners of the last Champions League.”

Real won the last of their 13 Champions League titles in 2018 and, while they may not be favourites in this year’s tournament, their ruthless victory in west London was a significant statement of intent from the La Liga leaders.

With 11 goals this term, Benzema has scored more times than any other Frenchman in a single European Cup campaign, moving past Just Fontaine’s 10-goal haul in 1958-59.

“They’re magic nights. Today we came out to win, to show we’re Real Madrid,” Benzema said. “We played well from the first minute to the last. They’re very important goals.”

There was a surprise in Wednesday’s other quarter-final as Villarreal stunned six-time European Cup winners Bayern Munich with a deserved 1-0 win after creating a hatful of chances in a frantic first leg at La Ceramica.

In the end Nigerian-born Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma’s eighth minute strike gave Unai Emery’s side a slender lead for the second leg in Munich next Tuesday.

“We know that it will be a completely different game in Germany,” captain Dani Parejo told reporters. “We had at least five opportunities to score, they didn’t create a single one. That says a lot about what we are capable of. So we will go there and compete with the same passion.”

Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern will still be heavy favourites to overturn the deficit at the Allianz Arena but Villarreal showed again they are not to be underestimated, having already sent Juventus crashing out in the last 16.

“It’s a deserved defeat, we weren’t good,” admitted Nagelsmann. “In the first half we had too little power, we didn’t create chances and we gave up control.”

RAPIER THRUST

Real were seeking revenge after the Londoners eliminated them in last season’s semi-finals before the Blues won the trophy in Porto.

There was an early warning sign for the Londoners when Vinicius Jr cracked a shot against the bar in the 10th minute.

Benzema then put Real ahead in the 21st minute at the end of a rapier thrust. Vinicius’ cross was perfect for Benzema and he looped a superb header over Mendy into the top corner from 10 yards.

Benzema was proving Madrid’s maestro once again and three minutes later he doubled Real’s advantage. Showing all his experience, the 34-year-old peeled away from Thiago Silva before planting a clinical header into the far corner from Luka Modric’s pin-point cross.

Five minutes before half-time, Jorginho’s deft cross caught Dani Carvajal ball-watching and Havertz glided behind him to bury a powerful header past Thibaut Courtois.

But Chelsea’s chances of a comeback were undone by Mendy’s mistake in the 46th minute when, outside his box, he tried to pass to Antonio Rudiger only for Benzema to intercept and steer the ball into an empty net for his 37th goal of the season.

Chelsea’s defeat adds to a sense of turmoil with the club put up for sale by Roman Abramovich after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which Moscow calls a “special military operation.” The Russian billionaire has been sanctioned by the British government.

Chelsea coach Thomas Tuchel said his team had been way off the levels he expects.

“You cannot expect a result from this kind of performance,” he told reporters.

FASTER, HUNGRIER

Europa League holders Villarreal were faster and hungrier than Bayern all over the pitch in the first half and in the eighth minute, took the lead.

The build-up to their winner started with Gerard Moreno, who is the heart and soul of the Yellow Submarine.

He received the ball close to the right touchline and played it through to Giovani Lo Celso whose low cross was struck first time by Parejo. Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer looked to have it covered but Danjuma got there first and stroked the ball home from close range.

Bayern were fortunate not to be further behind going into the second leg in Germany next week.

Villarreal had a Francis Coquelin effort chalked off by VAR for offside while Moreno almost scored twice — first with a long-range strike that hit the post and later trying to lob Neuer with an effort from inside his own half that went wide.

Danjuma and Alfonso Pedraza wasted two clear chances in the last few minutes, missing the target from inside the area.

“Our team is very hungry and humble,” Man-of-the-Match Lo Celso told Movistar Plus. “But we faced one of the best teams in the world and we go out with the sensation that we should have scored several more goals. We played our game, we are a team that always try to be the protagonist and we had a lot of opportunities to win by a bigger margin.”

Published in Dawn, April 8th, 2022