Chelsea must overturn a two-goal deficit at Real Madrid to salvage their Champions League defence after Karim Benzema's hat-trick secured a 3-1 quarter-final first-leg victory over the error-strewn holders at Stamford Bridge
Benzema dispatched two exquisite headers in three first-half minutes at a rain-drenched Stamford Bridge as Madrid set about avenging last season's semi-final defeat to Thomas Tuchel's reigning European champions in perfect fashion
Kai Havertz grabbed a lifeline for Chelsea before half-time, but it evaporated 46 seconds after the restart when Edouard Mendy vacated his area and played an under-hit pass to Antonio Rudiger, which put Benzema's hat-trick clinching goal on a plate
Substitute Romelu Lukaku spurned two chances to reduce arrears as Chelsea's comeback efforts came up short on a night of acute frustration which ended with the Blues' Champions League defence hanging in the balance ahead of next week's return at the Bernabeu
Chelsea's attempt to blow Real Madrid away with a blistering start ultimately contributed to their early demise, with their eagerness to attack leaving chasms in midfield and at the back for Real to exploit, which they very nearly did inside 10 minutes, when Vinicius Junior rattled the crossbar
The hosts' worst fears were realised on 21 minutes when Vinicius' third successful take-on against Andreas Christensen ended with the Brazilian floating a cross into the area which Benzema emphatically headed home at the near post
One quickly became two, with Benzema heading in Luka Modric's sumptuous cross within three minutes to stun Stamford Bridge and leave Chelsea's Champions League defence hanging perilously
Madrid carved out further chances to deepen Chelsea's plight, with Eder Militao heading straight at Mendy from a corner before Dani Carvajal's shot squirmed agonisingly under the Chelsea goalkeeper and Christensen desperately cleared
But having avoided further damage, Chelsea got themselves back into the game five minutes before the break, when Jorginho's looping cross found the head of Havertz, and his effort evaded the diving Thibaut Courtois
Chelsea's hope would last less than a minute after the interval, with Benzema pouncing on Mendy's moment of madness to intercept his weak pass to Rudiger and complete successive Champions League hat-tricks with a composed finish into the unguarded net
Captain Cesar Azpilicueta forced a stunning fingertip save from Courtois as Madrid repelled Chelsea's increasing desperate attempts to carve a route back into the tie
 The introduction of Lukaku on 64 minutes looked to have given Chelsea the second lifeline they were after, but he headed two presentable chances wide as Madrid held on to their healthy first-leg lead
"Today, is this [tie] alive with this performance? No, not at the moment
 We have to find ourselves again, I don't know where we have been since international break
 Tonight was a repetition of the second half against Brentford in a quarter-final against Real Madrid
 Five days, seven goals conceded
 It's alarming
"With everything the game demands, you cannot expect a result from this kind of performance
 We were so far off our level, tactically, individually, in shape, in challenges
 We tried to play in a new formation and killed the game off with a big mistake
"It's never on one player or players, it's on all of us, including myself
 Individually we lost shape and sharpness
 Since the international break we have obviously not looked the same and I don't really have an explanation
"Saturday's humbling at the hands of Brentford was supposed to be a blip, but it was compounded by another calamitous Chelsea outing on a night of acute frustration at Stamford Bridge
An evening which started with the reigning European champions intent at laying down a marker at the quarter-final stage, ended with a sobering Champions League clinic being administered by the 13-time winners
Chelsea's defence - and season - hangs in the balance
 With the Premier League title long gone, defending their European crown was the last big prize on offer to Thomas Tuchel's side but, now, not even the German can make a case for a comeback
When in charge of Paris Saint-Germain, Tuchel became the only manager in Champions League history to see a two-goal first-leg lead overturned on home soil when Manchester United knocked the Parisians out at the last-16 stage of the 2018/19 campaign
Tuchel will need no reminding of that defeat, one he labelled "painful and cruel", particularly while his latest managerial venture stoops into uncharted lows
 But that is the task now placed in front of Chelsea, and the message is clear - salvage your season while they still have one
Chelsea travel to Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday at 3pm, before travelling to Real Madrid for their Champions League quarter-final second leg on Tuesday at 8pm
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