In a contest where the final score could have been even more lopsided, defending champion Real Madrid easily defeated Chelsea 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Joao Felix and Raheem Sterling came close to scoring early on, but Madrid custodian Thibaut Courtois, playing against his former club, stopped both. Chelsea got off to a great start under new interim manager Frank Lampard.
But after 20 minutes, the home team took control of the match when Karim Benzema pounced on a loose ball in front of goal and slid it into an empty net.
It was Benzema's 90th goal in the Champions League, and his last 11 have all been against English teams.
Chelsea will probably have been relieved to stagger into the locker room down only 1-0 at halftime despite Madrid having eight shots on goal in the first half.
Before the hour, Ben Chilwell tackled Rodrygo from behind as he raced towards goal and was given a straight red card, making things considerably difficult for Chelsea.
After replacing Rodrygo in the 71st minute, the one-way play became even more obvious, and Madrid quickly scored their second goal when Marco Asensio slammed in a shot from the top of the penalty area.
Both Benzema and Vincius had a great Champions League night, with the latter recording two assists to bring his season total of goal assists in European play to 11, which is second only to Erling Haaland's 12.
In the end, the Londoners' goalless streak, which had lasted four games and included three Premier League games, was the longest since 1993.
Despite the clear first-leg victory for Lampard's counterpart Ancelotti, the work was far from finished.