Real Madrid and Karim Benzema offer the comfort of continuity

The world, we are told, is in a state of chaotic and unprecedented flux.

Technology is changing our lives at a frightening rate. All across the globe, societies are fracturing and falling apart. The destruction of the planet is accelerating before our eyes. Every passing week seems to bring new ruptures, new shocks, new disfigurements.

But Luka Modric is still running the midfield for Real Madrid, so, you know, that. And not just Modric: as white shirts insouciantly knocked the ball around the Stamford Bridge lawn in the closing minutes, it was like peering through a telescope into a perfectly preserved phantasm of the past. Toni Kroos had already gone off, but Casemiro was still there, snapping and scurrying like a man looking for a lost wedding ring. So was Dani Carvajal. So was Nacho Fernández. Even Gareth Bale had treated us to a rare foray from the bench, boosting his daily step count if little else.

And then, of course, there was Karim Benzema: jersey still moist from the rain, features still etched with a pure, restless desire. Carlo Ancelotti finally took him off in the 86th minute, but the Madrid fans were still singing his name half an hour later. Benzema came over to greet them, and while his teammates disappeared down the tunnel Benzema lingered a little longer, savouring the moment, perhaps hoping to eke it out forever.

The gilded lineage, the familiar faces and rhythms, the comfort of continuity: this is the gift of Madrid, but also its curse. After all, they arrived in London with points to prove. It is a very Madrid sickness to be 12 points clear in La Liga and still basically grumbling about everything, but since the turn of the year – and certainly in recent weeks – not all has been well. Against