Karim Benzema continued his remarkable season in front of goal on Tuesday night as he helped keep Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City.
The France international scored a brilliant brace as City claimed a slender 4-3 advantage in a thrilling first leg at the Etihad Stadium. The hosts looked to be running away with the tie after racing into a 2-0 lead, before Benzema intervened.
The 34-year-old guided Ferland Mendy’s cross home with a superb finish to halve the deficit heading into half-time. And he wasn’t done there.
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Goals from Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva either side of Vinicius Jr’s solo effort looked to have restored City's two-goal cushion for the second leg. Benzema, though, was presented with the chance to pull another goal back late on from the penalty spot following a handball from Aymeric Laporte.
The Frenchman tucked it away with aplomb with an ice-cool Panenka penalty to leave the tie delicately poised heading into next week’s second leg at the Bernabeu. And it proved to be a landmark night for Benzema.
By scoring his penalty in a typically confident fashion, the striker made it 41 goals in 41 games across all competitions. In the process, he became the first Real player since Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2017/18 season to reach that figure.
The current Manchester United star finished that campaign off with 44 goals to his name as Los Blancos claimed their 13th Champions League title. Benzema will be hoping to claim a 14th European crown for the club this season, and surpass Ronaldo’s goal tally in the process.
And there were more achievements for the Real striker on Tuesday as he made his 600th appearance for the club, as well as equalling the record shared by Sergio Ramos and Xavi for appearing in nine semi-finals for one club. Benzema could still have a big part to play in the second leg against City as their semi-final is set for a thrilling conclusion next week.
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