Karim Benzema wanted Reece James' shirt after Real Madrid vs Chelsea

Heading into Tuesday’s evening’s second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with Real Madrid, Chelsea right-back Reece James knew his side had a mountain to climb – and produced a performance that almost helped the Blues pull off a remarkable comeback.

The Blues were trailing 3-1 on aggregate after last week’s first leg at Stamford Bridge, with Karim Benzema bagging an impressive hat-trick in west London.

Defensively, Chelsea couldn’t afford to allow Real’s attack to dominate them once again at the Bernabeu and, from the opening exchanges, it became clear that Thomas Tuchel’s men were up for the challenge of keeping Benzema and his strike partner Vinicius Junior quiet.

England international James turned in a sterling effort at the back for his team and was arguably Chelsea’s Man of the Match, even though they ultimately fell to a 5-4 aggregate defeat after extra-time in the Spanish capital.

Keeping the likes of Vinicius and Ferland Mendy on the edges of the game throughout, James shut down two of Real’s most creative players with a sense of ease.

Despite picking up an early yellow card, James still flew into challenges with absolute commitment, registering eight tackles on the night – the most of any Chelsea player.

Benzema, of course, is Real’s most potent goalscoring threat – and James marshaled him incredibly well over the course of the match. At one point, he dove in to flick the ball away from the Frenchman as he was on the verge of scoring, risking both a red card and the concession of a penalty in the process.

His challenge, though, was perfectly timed, keeping Chelsea in with a chance of making the semi-finals as the tie went to extra-time, poised at 4-4.

Benzema eventually broke Chelsea’s stubborn