Gary Lineker after the last-night UCL fiery: “Benzema is indisputably one of the greatest number nines of all-time”
Champions League.. That sense of anticipation, that memorable and seemingly timeless tune that gives you goosebumps. Last night all the fans fell in love with football for the umpteenth, perhaps the thousandth time. The match that Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain gifted us is simply unforgettable.
A real drama, if not a thriller, was played out by two wonderful clubs right before our eyes. Before, in the first match, the future king of football, Killyan Mbappe, helped the team take a major step as he scored a stunning goal in the very end of the match bringing all the fans to ecstasy. Back then, all the PSG fans could already see in their reverie as their favourite players lift the long-awaited UCL trophy over their heads. The hope has never been stronger.
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Before the return leg at the Santiago Bernabeu, even the most experienced players were buzzing – a match worthy of a final for getting to the next stage, everything to be decided in Madrid.
The atmosphere and excitement was off the charts.
And so began the first half and the game was really tense, seemingly evenly matched, with both teams exchanging dangerous chances. All of a sudden, the same Mbappe threw the entire eighty-thousand Bernabeu into shock! The 23-year-old Frenchman opens the scoring at the end of the first half with a beautiful strike after a counterattack. Los Blancos fans have already literally lost faith in the bright outcome – the total score is now 0-2. Everyone was holding their breath. And the Parisians still had a dream in their heart, which was so close to the reality.
Real Madrid started the next half in earnest, such an experienced team would never let themselves be so easily beaten. But it seemed that the French had everything under control – a comfortable lead, and for 15 minutes of the second half, the hosts did not really create anything.
And then out of the blue! The most starry young goalkeeper in the world, Gianluigi Donnarumma, made a terrible mistake, getting caught off the ball in his own penalty area – the experienced prolific forward Karim Benzema literally robbed the Italian before a couple of passes with teammate and leveling the score.
Karim Benzema scores Real Madrid’s first goal after robbing a dawdling Gianluigi Donnarumma
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The game began to heat up and the teams had a very tense 15 minutes as Mauricio Pochettino‘s men began to unravel with a number of substitutions made. And what happened next will give PSG players nightmares: just 106 seconds and the fate of the match is overturned upside down.
At the age of 34 years and 80 days, Karim Benzema has become the oldest player to score a UEFA Champions League hat-trick, taking the mantle from Olivier Giroud. Coolness and class at the most decisive moment. The PSG players seemed to have literally forgotten how to play football, as the Frenchman was so playful in scoring the second and third goals.
The trajectory of the match was sealed, the Red-and-Blues tried in vain to make a difference, but apparently it was not fated to happen. And how much we wanted to see this fairytale, given that the final had been moved from St. Petersburg to Paris.
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1-0 in Paris, 3-1 in Madrid and the Royal Club advance to the next round while PSG are once again the losers.
The whole world literally idolises the match hero, who never seems to stop scoring.
“Karim Benzema is the best number 9 in the world. Lewandowski also scored 3 goals yesterday, but 2 penalties… today Benzema showed why he should be higher in the Ballon d’Or this year. Karim was running, fighting, even limping!”,
he added.
The forward himself thanked the fans and their committed support:
“I’m incredibly proud to have overtaken such a true legend. I’m not stopping here. It was a very difficult game but we pushed until the end and we deserved the win and our place in the next round. Any Champions League game is always difficult and we knew PSG like to have the ball. We started strongly, created chances and then we conceded the goal, but in the second half, showing great mental strength, we delivered the performance”.
“We want to see this stadium with the fans like they were tonight. We needed them and this win is for them. We lost the first leg and we were 1-0 down at half-time today but the strength of the fans drove us on and we gave it everything we had out on the pitch until the end”.
“Every game is a final for us, both in LaLiga and the Champions League. Real Madrid is alive. When the pressure is on, with every man doing his job and the fans behind us, we can beat anyone”.
Only Raul (323) and Cristiano Ronaldo (450) have scored more goals for Los Blancos.
“I’m proud to be third best goalscorer in Real Madrid history but I won’t stop, I want to score again and again, Real Madrid are still alive and we’ll never give up. We’ve to say thanks to Real Madrid fans, they were special tonight”.
he added.
“I don’t care if he is from Madrid, but what a player, what a player Benzema is. I love this game.”
Dani Alves (Barcelona RB) on IG.
“Benzema? He’s a leader, our captain. He’s the one who shows us the way. He scored a hat-trick, he saved us. He’s Karim. Some people thought we were dead, we showed no.”
said Camavinga after the match.
- Karim made his 500th start for Real Madrid in all competitions, becoming only the second foreign player to reach this milestone in the club’s history after Roberto Carlos (524).