Karim Benzema’s harvest when Real Madrid was beaten by Manchester City made Alan Shearer stunned.
Madrid and Man City starred in a seven-goal drama in the European Champions League semi-final first leg at the Etihad, with the visitors narrowly winning 4-3 thanks to goals from Kevin de Bruyne, Phil Foden, Gabriel Jesus and Bernardo Silva.
But Real Madrid still has hope for come back thanks to Benzema’s double plus Vinicius Junior’s contribution.
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Benzema’s second goal, which proved crucial as he scored when it was still 4-2 for City, was scored in Panenka style from the penalty spot.
Given that the French striker has missed four penalties this season – three of them this month – Newcastle legend Shearer can’t believe how low Benzema can be.
“After missing three penalties this month… I can only laugh and think ‘How could Karim Benzema do that’,” Shearer told BBC.
“So arrogant, but there’s also the confidence and ability to do it. It feels like he’s getting better and better.”
“Absolutely presumptuous! It is extraordinary.”
“How many goals has Karim Benzema scored this season? 41 goals? That’s amazing.”
Manchester City will hope they don’t regret the golden chances they missed at the Etihad, given that there is still a second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Bernardo Silva confessed The Citizens should have finished the game in the first half, but are proud of their efforts in front of the European giants.
“Honestly I thought we were very, very good in the first 20 minutes. How did we do pressingthe way we controlled the game and created chances,” he said.
“For 90 minutes it felt like we could have won with a better score. Unfortunately we couldn’t take advantage of the two-goal advantage we got three times.”
“It’s the Champions League, we’re up against one of the best teams in the world. Still it’s a good result. We’ll see what happens next.”
“It was a great game. Our fans can be proud of what we did. We could have scored more goals but that’s football too. They finished their chances.”
