A night where Karim Benzema rose above him, and also undermined chelsea.
It is the main scenario of a remarkable night of Champions League football at Stamford Bridge, while real Madrid great became only the second player to score hat-tricks in the competition in successive knockout matches.
The only other player to do so was the player he backed in Cristiano Ronaldo, who himself symbolizes just how much Benzema now takes center stage, at the age of 34.
Such history calls have lent an element of foreboding to Chelsea’s future that goes far beyond their future in this season’s competition following a 3-1 home defeat.
There is at least some doubt as to whether the club can quite be the same force as it was in the days of Roman Abramovich, as potential new owner Todd Boehly watched from the stands.
There was also an element of history there, as many could point out how Russia’s first Champions League experience was seeing a Real Madrid star score a hat-trick in England. Many others might point to the fact that they simply won’t have the same financial power, which added an extra edge to this game.
There was certainly even more of a feeling that the events of the past month are finally coming to the team, as that 3-1 home loss quickly followed a 4-1 blow to Brentford on the same ground.
While Chelsea were embarrassed on Saturday, it was more of a big rise to new levels.
This is why Benzema’s career has been almost as special as it has been distinguished. It went through three main stages. The first was like Wonder Kid. The second was an act of selfless support. The third, now, is as a grandmaster where his very experience seemed to offer him a greater level of excellence.
This made his excellent first goal somewhat ironic, as he actually had to go low to get the connection. With Vinicius Junior providing another whipped delivery of another frantic forward thrust, Benzema somehow leaned in to almost deflect the ball – albeit with some power – past Edouard Mendy.
Chelsea still remembered themselves when the big Madrid stars had just come through them again. It was a lot harder than it looks, however, as the second goal was a showpiece to go along with the historic feat of that hat-trick.
As Benzema darted between the Chelsea defenders again to deceptively create space, the ball was brought back to Luka Modric on the edge of the box. He went for a marvelous first-time ball that had the most inviting arc, but suddenly looked a bit too high for Benzema. There was no problem, however. There were only the highest class.
Benzema simply arched to guide this one into the bottom corner.
Two very different headers, both of the highest class.
Chelsea, for their part, were not shaken. At least not yet. Continuing the frantic pace of the game, they succeeded again.
It wasn’t long before they had a fine header from a classy player, although it required a step forward from someone else.
Jorginho had a torrid game, as if the pace was too much for him, as Madrid seemed to constantly overshoot his zone. Here he offered the required balance. The Italian offered a cross which itself was almost equal to Modric’s.
