As Manchester City supporters' hearts sank, Karim Benzema set off on his lap of honour.
After Real Madrid's tormentor-in-chief had ended Paris Saint-Germain's hopes of lifting their maiden Champions League title in the last-16 and extinguished Chelsea's hopes of retaining their crown in the quarter-finals, it was highly likely that he would have the decisive say in the semi-final against Pep Guardiola's side.
And so it proved. After Rodrygo, from nowhere, scored twice for Madrid to send their last-four showdown with City at the Bernabeu to extra time on Wednesday evening, Benzema ensured, once again, that he stole the headline moment, converting a penalty in the first period of extra time to seal Madrid's place in yet another Champions League final, booking a mouth-watering showdown with Liverpool.
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It was the Frenchman's 43rd goal of an outstanding campaign, meaning it is becoming increasingly hard to come up with any more adjectives to describe his current exploits. Of those 43 strikes, 15 of them have come in the Champions League, highlighting how often he has been Madrid's knight in shining armour on route to the final.
It also means that the 34-year-old Frenchman is now just two goals away from equalling Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking tally of 17 in a single Champions League campaign. The Manchester United striker plundered 17 goals for Madrid in their 2014/15 European adventure, but they fell at the semi-final hurdle that time around, meaning Benzema will be hoping to help Madrid go one better later this month, regardless of whether or not he matches or breaks Ronaldo's record in the process.
But regardless of whether Benzema's Champions League goals tally increases or not on May 28, his form this season has been nothing short of sublime and sensational. He has registered 57 direct goal contributions (goals and assists) in all competitions, making him a leading contender for the Ballon d'Or.
Furthermore, he has also helped Ronaldo put to bed the true fact that age is nothing more than just a number. With a combined age of 71, Benzema and Ronaldo could be forgiven for wanting to start to think about life after football. Instead, they continue to love nothing more than banging the goals in for Madrid and United, respectively.
Between them, they have now scored 67 goals in all competitions this season, highlighting that they are not planning, nor should they be encouraged, to hang up their boots just yet. Although Ronaldo is three years Benzema's senior, they are both entering the latter stages of their decorated careers - but you wouldn't think it, would you?
Whilst Benzema has performed at the very peak of his powers this season, Ronaldo, whilst experiencing a disappointing campaign in a collective sense in his first season back at United, has delivered the goods, all whilst trying to block out this apparent myth that he is 'the problem' behind United's demise.
If Ronaldo is 'the problem' with 24 goals to his name this season, it would be interesting to see what findings those who have made that statement would come up with if they dug a little deeper and discovered the real root of United's problems this season. Ronaldo certainly isn't - and Benzema's form proves that and debunks the myth that United must drastically lower the age of their centre-forward options to build back towards securing success.
Admittedly, Ronaldo is not going to continue playing forever, nor is Benzema, but with all of their experience and know-how, it should be no surprise that they have each enjoyed stellar seasons in front of goal. This myth that Ronaldo is 'past his best' and 'the problem' is nonsensical, with Benzema proving that age means nothing if you can still do the job expected of you.
Whilst the likes of Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe promise to be the future, and the excitement surrounding their futures is understandable and fair game, the likes of Benzema and Ronaldo are still continuing to do just the same thing as they come towards the end of their careers. They should be enjoyed and cherished, meaning the idea of some people trying to pin United's recent woes on Ronaldo is nothing more than damn right strange and unjustified.
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