Roman Abramovich, the story had it, decided to buy a Premier League football club after watching Brazilian great Ronaldo score a hat trick for Real Madrid in the Champions League at Old Trafford in 2003. If that was the start of his involvement in football, it’s perhaps fitting that another brilliant hat trick by a Madrid player on an English ground should bring the curtain down on the Abramovich era. This time it was Karim Benzema, and, while Chelsea will argue, quite rightly, that Wednesday’s 3–1 home defeat in the first leg of the quarterfinals does not mean it is out of this season’s Champions League, the France international’s hat trick was every bit as good as Ronaldo’s.
Karim Benzema, Real Madrid Deal Chelsea a Case of the Champions League Blues
