Mesut Ozil claims Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has underlined his credentials as the world’s best player with another stunning Champions League display.
The Frenchman is enjoying the season of his career, scoring 41 goals in as many appearances in all competitions. And Benzema’s remarkable goalscoring feats in the knockout stages of Europe’s top competition continue to astound, registering a brace against Manchester City in the first leg of the semi final.
The LaLiga and Premier League champions went toe-to-toe in a clash which will go down in the ages, with City ultimately running out 4-3 winners at the Etihad. But it could have been so much better for Pep Guardiola’s side, had it not been for Benzema’s heroics.
City got off to a blistering start, with Kevin De Bruyne opening the scoring in just the second minute following a perfect delivery by Riyad Mahrez. And one quickly became two when Gabriel Jesus pounced on an uncharacteristic David Alaba mistake.
The tie threatened to be out of Madrid’s reach with City spurning chances to make it three, most notably when Mahrez opted to shoot from an acute angle, rather than roll the ball across the box. Guardiola was furious at the Algerian’s decision to not pass and within four minutes they were left ruing that miss, with Benzema taking centre stage for the first time in the evening.
Having struggled to make any impact in the opening half hour, Benzema - who scored hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the previous two rounds - got across Oleksandr Zinchenko to expertly guide the ball into the bottom corner.
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That breathed new life into the tie, only for City to restore their two-goal lead less than 10 minutes after the break when Phil Foden nodded in at the back post. But less than 120 seconds later, Madrid halved the deficit once again through Vinicius Jr.
In a pulsating encounter, the hosts made it 4-2 through Bernardo Silva with 15 to go, but Benzema would have one final say after Aymeric Laporte was penalised for handling the ball in the box.
In what promised to be a pivotal moment in the two-legged affair, the 34-year-old was forced to wait for his chance from 12 yards. Benzema approached the ball having missed two penalties against Osasuna earlier this month and failing from the spot on four of his last five attempts.
But if there were any nerves, he didn’t show them, opting to dink the ball down the middle, leaving Ederson helpless.
Benzema now has nine goals in his last four Champions League appearances and his former Madrid team-mate Ozil has backed him to win the Ballon d’Or for the first time in his career, when the award is dished out later this year.
“What a fantastic game. Give my boy Benzi the Ballon D'Or,” the former Gunners playmaker tweeted. BT Sport pundit Rio Ferdinand clearly agreed as well, quoting Ozil’s post with the word: “Facts”.
