LONDON -- At least Stamford Bridge got to see a top striker settle a big game at last.
The awkward truth for Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel is that it was Karim Benzema, a 34-year-old somehow improving with age, turning this Champions League quarterfinal tie perhaps irrevocably in Real Madrid's favour in Wednesday's 3-1 win. The France international's stunning hat trick comprised of two exquisite headers, and a reward for the sort of pressing some may think is beyond a player of advancing years.
Take your pick of Benzema's remarkable statistics: 42 goals in his last 42 games, 13 in his last seven, 10 in his last four, the fourth player ever to score back-to-back Champions League hat tricks and his tally of 11 goals in a single season is the highest by any Frenchman in the competition.