Frenchman Karim Benzema proved to be the difference between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the end of their Champions League round of eight tie. Benzema scored the decisive goal in extra to send European champions Chelsea packing from the competition. The Euro 2020 participant was a thorn in the flesh of the Blues over the course of the tie.

Karim Benzema was the star of the show in the first leg when he scored a hat-trick to stun Chelsea at home. His three goals gave Real Madrid a 3-1 lead ahead of the second leg at home. In addition, he also made it two hat-tricks in two consecutive Champions League games at the end of the first leg thus making him the fourth player to achieve the feat. The Euro 2020 participant joined ex-Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, Paris Saint Germain (PSG) superstar Lionel Messi and Luiz Adriano in achieving the feat.

In the second leg, Mason Mount and Antonio Rudiger scored either side of the half-time interval to give Chelsea a 2-0 lead at the home of Real Madridthereby levelling the tie. The Premier League heavyweights then took the lead for the first time in the tie when German attacker Timo Werner made it 3-0 to Chelsea on the might with fifteen minutes of normal time left and 4-3 on aggregate. The aggregate lead lasted for just five minutes after Real Madrid substitute Rodrygo Goes applied the finish to a magnificent pass from veteran midfielder Luka Modric. The goal from the Brazilian ensured that normal time ended in a 3-1 win for Chelsea and a 4-4 aggregate scoreline thus leading to extra time.

Benzema scored what turned out to be the winning goal over the two legs six minutes into extra time as he sent Real Madrid into the semifinals for the second Champions League season in a row.