The reigning champions, who have won the title 14 times, won easily against Frank Lampard’s team, who had Ben Chilwell sent off in the second half for bringing Rodrygo Goes down as he ran through on goal.
After 21 minutes, Kepa Arrizabalaga tipped Vinicius Junior’s shot into his path, and Benzema scored from close range.
Chelsea demonstrated why they are struggling in 11th place in the Premier League, while Real Madrid demonstrated their strength in a battle between the two Champions League winners.
Toni Kroos and Luka Modric, both seasoned midfielders, were Ancelotti’s main cogs at Chelsea from 2009 to 2011.
After concerns about injury, Lampard brought in Thiago Silva and N’Golo Kante straight into the starting lineup in his second game in charge since replacing Graham Potter last week.
Lampard was encouraged by Kante’s performance against Madrid in the 2021 semifinals when Chelsea defeated them to win the trophy for the second time.
At the start, the French midfielder let Joao Felix, an Atletico striker on loan, though, but Felix shot at Thibaut Courtois, a former Chelsea stopper.
Benzema scored a hat trick :
He almost hit them with a piledriver that missed the mark. Benzema, who scored a hat trick last season at Stamford Bridge and the goal that got Madrid through to the second leg against the Blues, scored his sixth goal against Chelsea to get the game started.
Dani Carvajal hurled an enticing ball over the top and in spite of the fact that Kepa got his fingertips to Vinicius’ work, Benzema was left with a straightforward tap-in.
Raheem Sterling came close to scoring for Chelsea, but Courtois pulled off a stunning save to deny him. Vinicius, Rodrygo, and David Alaba came close for Madrid, which toyed with their opponents and kept them in their box for long periods.
Blues blow: Chelsea hasn’t scored many goals this season, and after making their first chances, it was hard for them to build an attack.
For the first time since 1993, the Blues have not scored in their last four games across all competitions, and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, their sole pure striker, is not registered to play in the Champions League.
Before the hour mark, Chilwell was shown a straight red card for pulling back Rodrygo as he ran through on goal, adding to Chelsea’s already difficult situation.
Asensio doubled the hosts’ advantage by squeezing a shot through Fofana’s legs and into the bottom corner, adding to an already difficult evening.
In the final minute, Kepa pushed a cross into the path of Benzema, but he missed the target.
Antonio Rudiger made a great block late on to stop Mason Mount, preventing his former team from taking anything good into the second leg.