One of the great goalkeeping howlers has left title holders Chelsea on the verge of Champions League elimination following a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid on Thursday (AEST).
Chelsea were already in trouble, down 2-1 at halftime in the first leg of the quarterfinal, before Edouard Mendy provided Madrid ace Karim Benzema a gift hat-trick at London’s Stamford Bridge.
Madrid had hacked the ball aimlessly up the pitch and Mendy left his area to deal with what should have been a harmless situation.
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But the Senegal international dithered and then sent a weak pass meant for teammate Antonio Rudiger as Benzema pounced in front of mortified Chelsea fans.
“He’s good enough to have to work for goals but when you give him a chance like that it’s total chaos,” legendary commentator Martin Tyler said on Stan Sport’s coverage.
“And that could be the determining factor when we finish the second leg. What a mess up. He cannot believe what he’s seen, (manager) Thomas Tuchel. Mendy reflects on a moment of madness.”
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Co-commentator Alan Smith did his best to make sense of the Chelsea calamity.
“Just not getting nearly enough on the ball, trying to find Rudiger,” Smith said.
“Talk about a gift, talk about shooting yourself in the foot. That’s the last man you want to be presenting the ball to.”
Benzema’s first two goals came from brilliant, alert headers while Kai Havertz was Chelsea’s goalscorer.
In Thursday’s other quarterfinal, Villarreal upset German giants Bayern Munich 1-0 with Arnaut Danjuma the scorer.
Liverpool and Manchester City were the winners on Wednesday.
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