The modern history of Real Madrid would not be conceived without Karim Benzema, who with a hat-trick gave his team the victory against PSG and helped it reach the quarterfinal round of the Champions League. It was not the first time that the French has scored three times in the same match in his career and certainly not the last, as he once again scored three in the European tournament, this time against Chelsea.
One of those who could become Los Merengues' bomb signing for next season, fellow French ace Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring in the 39th minute to send the Bernabeu into raptures. The worst-case scenario was feared as the aggregate score was extended to 2-0 in favor of Paris Saint-Germain. The dream of winning the 14th Champions League slipped away.
It was then that the figure of what is undoubtedly current Real Madrid's biggest star emerged: Karim Benzema. The Lyon native waved his wand to score 3 goals, in the 61st, 76th and 78th minutes to turn the horror story that his team was living into one of the feats that will be remembered for a long time in this tournament's history. But shortly after he proved he's far from satisfied, putting three past The Blues all by himself in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
The 11 hat-tricks scored by Karim Benzema in his career so far
Karim Benzema has picked up a healthy but not easy habit: scoring trebles. Counting the one he scored in the second leg of the Round of 16 of this year's Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, it is now 11 times that French has hit the back of the net three times in the same match. Get to know the other ten.
Real Madrid's current number 9 has a tendency to excel at the Santiago Bernabeu, as 9 of the 10 hat-tricks he has scored have come at that stadium. Only two were scored away, the first ones of his career when he was still playing for Olympique Lyon.
In terms of tournaments, Karim Benzema has scored 4 trebles in league matches (3 in Spain and 1 in France), 3 in the Champions League (2 in the group stage and 1 in the Knockout stage), and 3 in Cups (1 in the Copa del Rey, 1 in the Coupe de France, and 1 in the Audi Cup).
Chelsea 1-3* Real Madrid / 06-04-22
* Game in progress
Real Madrid 3-1 PSG / 09-03-22 / Champions League
Real Madrid 5-2 Celta Vigo / 12-09-21 / La Liga.
Real Madrid 5-3 Fenerbahce / 31-07-19 / Audi Cup.
Real Madrid 3-0 Athletic / 21-4-19 / La Liga.
Real Madrid 10-2 Rayo Vallecano / 20-12-15 / La Liga.
Real Madrid 8-0 Malmo / 8-12-15 / Champions League.
Real Madrid 8-0 Levante / 22-12-10 / Copa del Rey.
Real Madrid 4-0 Auxerre / 8-12-10 / Champions League.
US Creteil 0-4 Lyon / 6-01-08 / Coupe de France.
Metz 1-5 Lyon /15-9-07 / Ligue 1.
