Karim Benzema has at times played in the shadow of fellow striker Cristiano Ronaldo for several of his seasons at Real Madrid, but the Frenchman has grabbed all the spotlight this term, scoring 15 goals to help his side reach the Champions League final. the UEFA Champions League.
The 34-year-old striker has won everything possible since joining Real Madrid from Lyon in 2009, but the Los Blancos captain tells UEFA.com he hasn’t lost his thirst for goals and that he might even get better with age.
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UEFA.com: At 34, you seem to be going against the grain of biological logic, what role has experience played in your performance this season?
Karim Benzema: I think there are more and more players in this situation who, after the age of 30, rise even more in level. Me, for example, I take a lot of care of myself, I pay attention to everything I do, I rest as much as possible, I work more, I have time to work well. With the experience I had before, that’s why, I think, today I feel great both technically and mentally.
Liverpool – Real Madrid, latest news
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You are tied with Cristiano Ronaldo for the Champions League knockout stage goals record, with the possibility of setting a new record in the final, is that something you care about or something you enjoy more in a few years?
Records are made to be broken, but for me the most important thing is to be on the field, to do everything to make my team win. Afterwards, if I can score goals or make assists, it’s important, but the most important thing is to enter the field and be able to win the match.
Liverpool – Real Madrid, what you need to know
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You’ve scored 15 goals in 11 Champions League appearances this season, do you have a favourite?
They are all beautiful and important. There are many and they are important. The prettiest is perhaps the third goal against PSG, or the penalty against Manchester City, but there is the header at Chelsea which is also pretty because it is a good action so maybe that one.
You eliminate Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Manchester City with incredible scenarios. How does it feel to be on the pitch in such matches?
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These are emotions that will remain etched for life because our journey in the Champions League was not easy. We played Paris Saint-Germain who were the favorite team for the title, we played defending champion Chelsea, we played runners-up Manchester City, so it proves that we are a very, very good team. Nobody made us favourites, it shows that we don’t give up and above all that we have mental strength, a very strong group and that with the help of our supporters, we can turn around any situation.
We have the impression from the outside, especially in the matches against City and Paris, that the fans believed in it and that it pushed you to seek victory and had a negative influence on your opponents?
I always say that the supporter is the twelfth man, the twelfth player. Because you need a supporter for the confidence, for the mind, to make the last effort, the good pass. If today we reach the final, it is also thanks to our supporters; it’s thanks to our group, to what we do on the pitch, but also to the supporters who are there and who encourage us to play this kind of match.
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Four Champions Leagues already for you, a fifth and you are equal with Di Stefano and the legends of the club of the 50s. Is it important for you too to mark the history of Real Madrid and is it that you have a favorite among the four that you have already won?
Mark the history of the club, that I will see when I stop football. For me, all my matches are important, I try each time to do something new, to give emotions to the supporters. Of course, it’s a dream to win another Champions League, but you have to prepare well and play a final to win it. The four Champions Leagues are different emotions. Afterwards, I would say perhaps the last in Kyiv, where I scored in the final, but otherwise the others also provided really beautiful, beautiful emotions.
How does it feel to hold up this trophy?
That’s why I talk about giving emotions to the people who watch the matches, so that they too feel as if they had won the Champions League, because in the end we all win the Champions League . Us because we are the players, but if the fans are the twelfth man, then the fans have won with us. So when you win a trophy, they won too.
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