Chelsea are SAVAGED in the European papers after loss to Real Madrid

‘Shipwrecked’ Chelsea are SAVAGED in the European papers… with Christian Pulisic given a TWO in L’Equipe’s brutal ratings, Edouard Mendy is likened to Loris Karius and Thomas Tuchel is torn apart

  • Karim Benzema scored a stunning hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Chelsea 3-1
  • Spanish press savaged Chelsea’s performance and Thomas Tuchel’s tactics 
  • Keeper Edouard Mendy was compared to Loris Karius after second-half error
  • Karius presented the ball to Benzema to score in 2018 Champions League final
  • L’Equipe singled out Christian Pulisic for an unflattering 2/10 match rating 

Edouard Mendy has been unflatteringly compared to Loris Karius after ‘shipwrecked’ Chelsea’s Champions League hopes were dealt a serious blow by Real Madrid – with the ineffective Christian Pulisic also singled out for blame.

A mistake by the Chelsea goalkeeper at the start of the second-half allowed Karim Benzema through to complete a stunning hat-trick as the Spanish side took complete control of the quarter-final tie.

Spanish newspaper AS drew parallels between Mendy’s mistake and the former Liverpool keeper Karius, who threw the ball straight to Benzema in the 2018 Champions League final.

Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was unflatteringly compared to Loris Karius by the Spanish press after his blunder gifted Karim Benzema his hat-trick goal for Real Madrid

Benzema went through to make it 3-1 to Real after Mendy’s weak pass gave the ball away

Karius threw the ball to Benzema, who scored in Real’s 3-1 win over Liverpool in the 2018 final

They also mentioned Bayern Munich keeper Sven Ulreich, whose fumble allowed Benzema to score in the 2018 Champions League semi-final, and PSG’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, who blundered to gift the French striker a goal in the last round.

‘To all this we must add the tremendous error of Edouard Mendy. After Karius, Ulreich and Donnarumma, the enthusiastic pressure from Benzema already has another victim on his resume,’ AS wrote.

Unsurprisingly, images of a celebrating Benzema dominate the front covers of the sports dailies in Spain on Thursday. ‘The King of Europe’ shouted AS, while Marca went with ‘Big Ben’ after Real’s commanding win in London.

Benzema also made the front cover of L’Equipe in his native France, whose ‘Triple d’Or’ headline hinted strongly that the 34-year-old should finally be recognised as the world’s best footballer.

Benzema wins the ball off PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma to score in the round of 16

Benzema scored a stunning hat-trick as Real took complete command of the quarter-final

Thomas Tuchel’s game plan was savaged by the Spanish papers with Chelsea ‘shipwrecked’

L’Equipe handed the striker a 9/10 rating for the match but were understandably scathing of the Chelsea players.

American forward Pulisic received just 2/10 for his quiet 64 minutes of action before being replaced by Romelu Lukaku, who then missed a golden chance with a header.

The French paper awarded 3/10 across the board for Chelsea keeper Mendy, beaten by two Benzema headers in quick succession in the first-half, and defenders Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Andreas Christensen.

Kai Havertz, who scored the first-half goal that briefly gave a glimmer of hope for the Premier League club, received their highest score, albeit just 6/10.

Benzema unsurprisingly featured on the front cover of L’Equipe, who tipped him for the Ballon d’Or this year after his sensational form

L’Equipe’s notoriously harsh ratings singled out Christian Pulisic for a miserable 2/10 

‘Big Ben’ was Marca’s headline as they saluted Benzema for his brilliant hat-trick at Chelsea

‘The King of Europe’ proclaimed Diario AS as they revelled in Real Madrid’s 3-1 victory

The Madrid papers revelled in Real’s win, with AS describing Chelsea as ‘shipwrecked’ having been ‘completely unsettled’ by Mendy’s error for Benzema’s third goal.

Marca zoned in on Thomas Tuchel’s tactical errors, saying that the decision to play Christensen on the right of the back three allowed Vinicius Junior too much freedom.

Vinicius got the better of Christensen for Benzema’s first two goals and AS proclaimed that Tuchel’s tactics ‘went awry from the beginning’ as the ‘nightmare’ of Saturday’s shock 4-1 loss to Brentford was repeated.

When asked whether the tie was still alive Tuchel replied: ‘No, the tie is not alive at the moment.’

Chelsea certainly have a mountain to climb in the Bernabeu on Tuesday with the reigning champions staring down the barrel of an exit.




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