Karim Benzema has sent records tumbling as he put Chelsea to the sword with a hat trick in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at Stamford Bridge.
The Frenchman came into the game off the back of a hat-trick against Paris Saint Germain in the second leg of their last 16 tie, and quickly added to his tally with a splendid header from 14 yards, before finding another aerial brilliant effort to double his tally and his side’s lead.
And, a minute into the second half, free-scoring Benzema was handed his third goal on a plate, with Edouard Mendy making an awful mistake allowing the Real Madrid forward to roll the ball into an empty net from 25 yards out.
In doing so, he became only the second ever player to have scored hat-tricks in consecutive knockout games of the Champions League, former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo the only other man to have produced the feat.
Only two players in Champions League history have scored a hat-trick in consecutive knockout games:
Cristiano Ronaldo
🎩 vs Bayern
🎩 vs Atlético MadridKarim Benzema
🎩 vs PSG
🎩 vs ChelseaIt’s a Real Madrid thing. #UCL pic.twitter.com/eL3KKAm7My
— William Hill (@WilliamHill) April 6, 2022
France record tumbles
It was not just that record that tumbled, either, with Benzema becoming the first Frenchman to hit double figures in a Champions League season, overtaking the eight goals netted by Wissam Ben Yedder and Kylian Mbappe previously.
Another record broken by Karim Benzema in the Champions League💥
What a player.#UCL pic.twitter.com/vEIaOYVIUX
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 6, 2022
Additionally, he became the first player to ever score a Champions League hat trick against the Blues since the competition began.
Karim Benzema is the first player in Champions League history to score a #UCL hat-trick against Chelsea. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/bS4ygSGPgL
— Squawka (@Squawka) April 6, 2022
Continuing to improve with age, it seems impossible that the 34-year-old does not add to his tally in the remainder of the Champions League campaign, and should he continue scoring Los Blancos have a great chance of going all the way.
Read more:
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Chelsea betting odds, next game:
Southampton vs Chelsea odds: result, both teams to score, correct score & goalscorers
| Southampton vs Chelsea Results/Both teams score | Yes | No |
|---|---|---|
| Southampton | 7/1 | 6/1 |
| Chelsea | 3/1 | 1/2 |
| Draw | 4/1 | 10/1 |
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Premier League table
| # | Team | MP | D | P |
| 1 | Manchester City | 30 | 52 | 73 |
| 2 | Liverpool FC | 30 | 57 | 72 |
| 3 | Chelsea FC | 29 | 35 | 59 |
| 4 | Tottenham Hotspur | 30 | 15th | 54 |
| 5 | Arsenal FC | 29 | 10 | 54 |
| 6 | West Ham United | 31 | 11 | 51 |
| 7 | Manchester United | 30 | 8 | 51 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 31 | 6 | 49 |
| 9 | Crystal Palace | 30 | 4 | 37 |
| 10 | Leicester City | 28 | -4 | 37 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 30 | 0 | 36 |
| 12 | Southampton FC | 30 | -9 | 36 |
| 13 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 30 | -10 | 34 |
| 14 | Brentford FC | 31 | -11 | 33 |
| 15th | Newcastle United | 30 | -21 | 31 |
| 16 | Leeds United | 31 | -33 | 30 |
| 17 | Everton FC | 28 | -19 | 25 |
| 18 | Watford FC | 30 | -28 | 22 |
| 19 | Burnley FC | 28 | -18 | 21 |
| 20 | Norwich City | 30 | -45 | 18 |
| Player | Team | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 20 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 14 |
| Jota, Diogo | Liverpool FC | 14 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 12 |
| Ronaldo, Cristiano | Manchester United | 12 |
| Mane, Sadio | Liverpool FC | 12 |
| Tony, Ivan | Brentford FC | 11 |
| Mahrez, Riyad | Manchester City | 10 |
| De Bruyne, Kevin | Manchester City | 10 |
| Sterling, Raheem | Manchester City | 10 |
| Vardy, Jamie | Leicester City | 10 |
| Zaha, Wilfried | Crystal Palace | 10 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 9 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 9 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 9 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Rafinha | Leeds United | 9 |
| Smith-Rowe, Emile | Arsenal FC | 9 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 8 |
| Antonio, Michael | West Ham United | 8 |
| Player | Team | Red Cards | Yellow Cards |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neves, Ruben | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 0 | 9 |
| Mings, Tyrone | Aston Villa | 0 | 9 |
| Mctominay, Scott | Manchester United | 0 | 9 |
| Firpo, Junior | Leeds United | 0 | 9 |
| Salisu, Mohammed | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 0 | 7 |
| Gallagher, Conor | Crystal Palace | 0 | 8 |
| Moreno, Rodrigo | Leeds United | 0 | 8 |
| Cash, Matty | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| McGinn, John | Aston Villa | 0 | 8 |
| Tarkowski, James | Burnley FC | 0 | 8 |
| Shaw, Luke | Manchester United | 0 | 8 |
| Romeu, Oriol | Southampton FC | 0 | 8 |
| Brownhill, Josh | Burnley FC | 0 | 8 |
| Xhaka, Granit | Arsenal FC | 1 | 7 |
| Maguire, Harry | Manchester United | 0 | 7 |
| Romero, Christian | Tottenham Hotspur | 0 | 8 |
| Bissouma, Yves | Brighton & Hove Albion | 0 | 8 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 0 | 7 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 1 | 6 |
| Player | Team | Assists |
|---|---|---|
| Alexander-Arnold, Trent | Liverpool FC | 11 |
| Salah, Mohamed | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Robertson, Andy | Liverpool FC | 10 |
| Pogba, Paul | Manchester United | 9 |
| Bowen, Jarrod | West Ham United | 8 |
| Kane, Harry | Tottenham Hotspur | 7 |
| Mount, Mason | Chelsea FC | 7 |
| Lacazette, Alexandre | Arsenal FC | 7 |
| Barnes, Harvey | Leicester City | 7 |
| Jesus, Gabriel | Manchester City | 7 |
| Son, Heung Min | Tottenham Hotspur | 6 |
| Fernandes, Bruno | Manchester United | 6 |
| Antonio, Michael | West Ham United | 6 |
| Benrahma, Said | West Ham United | 6 |
| James, Rece | Chelsea FC | 6 |
| Mbeumo, Bryan | Brentford FC | 6 |
| Cancelo, Joao | Manchester City | 6 |
| Dennis, Emmanuel | Watford FC | 5 |
| Saka, Bukayo | Arsenal FC | 5 |
| Ings, Danny | Aston Villa | 5 |