Benzema, the scourge of Chelsea on the identical degree of the contest closing season, transformed from level clean vary within the twenty first minute when Kepa Arrizabalaga stored from Vinicius Junior however may just most effective contact the ball within the path of the Frenchman.
It was once Benzema’s ninetieth Champions League objectives with the closing 11 all coming towards English golf equipment.
Chelsea – below caretaker trainer Frank Lampard after a dark season to this point – went just about scoring within the first part however Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling had been thwarted through Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois taking part in towards his former membership.
The Londoners’ possibilities of getting again into the sport suffered a significant setback within the 59th minute when Ben Chilwell was once proven a instantly crimson card for bringing down Rodrygo with a tug of the Brazilian’s blouse when he was once bearing down on function.
Asensio have been at the box for simply 3 mins when he was once fed through Vinicius at the fringe of the field and the Spain world drilled in a low shot that went during the legs of Chelsea defender Wesley Fofana and past Kepa’s dive.
The win on the Santiago Bernabeu stadium places the 14-time European champions within the driving force’s seat forward of the second one leg at Stamford Bridge on April 18.
Benzema, who scored a hat-trick in London closing yr prior to getting every other in Madrid in a 5-4 mixture mystery, will have successfully seemed off Chelsea in added time on the finish of the second one part when he headed over with the function at his mercy after Kepa may just most effective punch the ball so far as him.
Chelsea replace Mason Mount then got here just about a the most important function for the Blues when he grew to become and shot into the penalty space however former teammate Antonio Rudiger, additionally on off the bench, raced in to dam.
In the tip, the Londoners failed to attain for a fourth fit in a row – 3 of them within the Premier League – their longest barren run since 1993.
Lampard – Chelsea’s most sensible goalscorer who returned to Stamford Bridge for a 2d spell as trainer till the tip of the season after Graham Potter was once fired this month – embraced Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, himself an ex-Chelsea supervisor, on the last whistle.
“They’re a very good team but we have to believe,” Lampard instructed BT Sport, relating to subsequent week’s go back leg in London.
(With inputs from Reuters)