LONDON - At least one top striker at Stamford Bridge got to see a big game at the end.
The strange truth for Chelsea and Thomas Tuchel is that it was 34-year-old Karim Benzema who was somehow improving with age, perhaps turning this Champions League quarterfinal tie into Wednesday's 3-1 win in favor of Real Madrid. gave. The France international's astonishing hat-trick included two excellent headers, while the third strike was a reward for the kind of pressure that some might think extends beyond the forward.
Select Benzema's notable statistics: 42 goals in his last 42 games, 13 in his last seven, 10 in his last four, the fourth player to score a consecutive Champions League hat-trick, and his 11 goals in the number of goals by any Frenchman in the competition. Single season at most.
"Every day he's better like a wine," said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti, who arrived in London a few hours before kick-off after testing negative for COVID-19.
Benzema is the full striker Chelsea thought they were buying into Romelu Lukaku. His first header combined laser-like accuracy with enough power to convert Vinicius Jr.'s 21st-minute cross.
The second was arguably better, completing a pinpoint delivery from Luka Modric with his weight on the wrong foot, yet somehow guiding a wonderful effort for Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
Kai Havertz responded with a header of his own, converting Jorginho's excellent 40th-minute ball, but, less than a minute into the second half, Benzema troubled Mendy in an error, Antonio Rudiger. hit one pass. Benzema beat Chelsea's centre-back on a tackle and swung the loose ball into an empty net.
Lukaku, having seen it all off the bench, was left again in recent weeks as a result of Chelsea producing ample evidence he is currently more powerful than anyone he has ever achieved to do so.
He entered the field just after the hour mark for the unnamed Christian Pulisic and, within five minutes, was in the opposite embarrassing position with Benzema.
Cesar Azpilicueta produced a left-wing cross to find Lukaku unmarked from seven yards. His header lacked conviction and he went off target harmlessly.
"It was very important," said Tuchel of Lukaku's memory. "There are no goals now so if we only have a goal deficit or a draw, you see the momentum comes back when we score. We could have leveled as well. There were a lot of places and chances. But individuals today's decisions were far from the level of our standards."
The home crowd welcomed Lukaku's effort by venting their anger at the wonderful opportunity turned down.
They are used to it by now. The latter had an even worse attempt, hopelessly off target. In 26 minutes, he managed four touches, one of which set up Hakim Ziyech for an effort that was just wide.
Lukaku was signed at great expense - €115 million from Internazionale - for one obvious reason: to add ferocity to a team that habitually turned down too many opportunities.
In Tuchel's first 50 games in charge, Chelsea kept 31 clean sheets, more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues.
It was efficiency that formed the basis of an impossible Champions League win last season, but this time, given the dual mission of retaining his European crown and chasing the Premier League title, that resilience has been put under the threat of a major attack. Had to align.
Lukaku was signed off as a one-man solution but the problem remains. Sometimes in a 3-5-2 system with a strike-partner or alone in Tuchel's favorite 3-4-2-1, but even in his six-game winning run, Havertz used Chelsea's attack. Developed in a leadership role. The international break, commendable as it was given the widespread uncertainty over club ownership and day-to-day functionality, often lacked the attacking authority that could reasonably be expected of them.
Tuchel occasionally moved into the back four in search of a resolution and he appeared to regret his line-up here, with Matteo Kovacic at half-time and Ziyech in a series of changes to try to improve. Withdraws N'Golo Kante and Andreas Christensen. A game is going away from them.
Christensen was off pace from the start, troubled by Vinicius's speed and sharpness of motion. Tuchel described that match with his 3-5-2 line-up as "my mistake" and even turned down an easy opportunity to talk the possibility of a second leg revival. took an unusual step.
Asked if the tie was still alive, Tuchel said: "No, not at the moment. The second half against Brentford [a 4-1 home loss] in the quarter-final against Real Madrid. We have everything in the game. Far from the level, we cannot expect results from this kind of performance.
"If we keep playing like this, we will lose at Southampton and then we will lose at the Bernabeu."
Of course, this can never be considered Lukaku's fault alone. Tuchel is only a key figure for a problem he has been battling with for some time, one that was highlighted here by Real's superb first-half display and multiple individual errors, Mendy's within 45 seconds of the restart. Nothing is more harmful than error.
And in Lukaku's defence, none of Tuchel's options worked particularly well. Ruben Loftus-Cheek replaced Jorginho at the same time that Lukaku's introduction was an odd call given the Italian's importance to the team.
Reece James was rusty in only his second start since December due to injury and Chelsea's collective weakness on the right side was a vulnerability they could not mask.
In fact, full-backs are crucial to Tuchel's approach and James is clearly not at his best and Azpilicueta is unable to provide the same threat as Ben Chilwell, which is undoubtedly a contributing factor to any explanation that the Blues have. Why did you fight?
As Real's 30-something midfielder trio Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro all began to tire, Chelsea's persistence created several promising positions – Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made an excellent save from Azpilicueta during his return to Stamford Bridge - but otherwise Target faced a lack of quality that Tuchel would be well aware of. Something must change or their Champions League aspirations will suffer next.