Edouard Mendy HORROR mistake: With a hat trick at Stamford Bridge to help his team overcome Chelsea 3-1 in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Karim Benzema demonstrated why he is one of the finest in the world right now. In the Champions League, it was his second hat trick in a straight.
The third goal by Benzema was extremely odd, as Chelsea’s outstanding Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy made an unforced, awful blunder that the Frenchman took advantage of.
Watch Edouard Mendy HORROR mistake against Real Madrid
Mendy has never been renowned for his proficiency with the ball in his hands, but holy cow, this screams “SportsCenter Not Top 10.” This failure not only looked bad, but it also sucked the wind out of his team’s sails as they attempted to overcome two first-half goals.
In the first half, I believe you can predict who scored for Real Madrid.
Benzema is currently the most in-form player on the planet. In his past two Champions League outings, he has scored six goals and has 13 goals in his last seven games in all competitions. He can’t seem to quit scoring.
He did, however, demonstrate his humanity late in the first half when he missed a good opportunity wide left of Chelsea’s goal.
When Kai Havertz scored a header of his own minutes before the first half ended, Chelsea appeared to have climbed back into the game. After the goal, it seemed like the game was on.
Only seconds into the second half, Mendy’s error ruined all of his team’s hard work and sent them back to square one. Thibaut Courtois, his opponent in the opposing net, will remember the game far more warmly.
In the second half, the Belgian shot-stopper made a spectacular save to retain the two-goal advantage. César Azpilicueta believed he had a worldie in the top right corner, but Courtois denied him with a leaping paw.
Chelsea failed to beat Courtois for the second time and will head to Madrid next week with a 3-1 aggregate deficit. The London team will face an uphill struggle, especially when the world’s hottest talent is pitted against them.
