Chelsea face an uphill task to remain in the Champions League after suffering a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Real Madrid in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.
A hat-trick from Karim Benzema, whose three goals came within the first 46 minutes of the contest, means that Los Blancos head into next week's reverse fixture in total control.
Although Kai Havertz halved the deficit during the first half, Chelsea were deservedly beaten at Stamford Bridge and have it all to do at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Having reverted to a back three, Thomas Tuchel would have expected his Chelsea side to look more at ease both with and without the ball, but their opponents cut through them at will during the opening 45 minutes.
While the Blues were given a warning when Vinicius Junior struck the crossbar after turning sharply inside the area, there was little that they could do to prevent Real from going ahead in style.
Benzema and the Brazilian winger linked up down the left-hand side before the latter delivered the perfect cross for his teammate to power a header into the top corner of the net from 10 yards.
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If the Frenchman's first header was emphatic, his second moments later was precise, the veteran frontman moving in behind Thiago Silva to direct a header into the far corner.
To their credit, Chelsea kept pushing forward, and they were rewarded with five minutes of the first half remaining as Havertz sent a brave header of his own into the far corner after meeting Jorginho's outswinging cross.
Real went straight up the other end and squandered a chance to reestablish their two-goal lead, Benzema surprising miscuing a shot inside the area when it seemed easier to find the net.
However, he made amends within a minute of the restart, a mix-up between Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Antonio Rudiger allowing Benzema to roll the ball into an empty net from outside of the penalty area.
By the 64th minute, Tuchel had made four substitutions, switching to a back four and introducing Romelu Lukaku down the middle of the attack.
Soon after his introduction, the club-record signing was guilty of missing a golden opportunity to make it 3-2, the Belgian somehow directing a header from a deflected cross wide of Thibaut Courtois's far post.
Mason Mount sent a long-range curler marginally over the far top corner and Cesar Azpilicueta saw a powerful effort magnificently turned over the crossbar by Courtois.
Nevertheless, Real were full value for their victory in West London, leaving Tuchel and his squad with much to ponder as they attempt to avoid their defence of the trophy ending at the last-eight stage.
Darren Plant
