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The Ballon d’Or hopeful confirmed skilled cool on the very best of phases towards Manchester Metropolis
Karim Benzema stole headlines and social media reward after a surprising Panenka penalty in a Champions League semifinal first leg for Actual Madrid towards Manchester Metropolis on Tuesday.
In one of many elite competitors’s most thrilling knockout ties of all time, Metropolis prevailed 4-3 however had been continually pinned again by the 13-time winners and their never-say-die angle spearheaded by the likes of Benzema and Luka Modric.
When Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus put the Mancunians 2-0 up on the Etihad after simply 11 minutes, Benzema pulled one again with a intelligent no-look sidefooted volley previous the half-hour mark.
Karim Benzema wasn't even wanting on the purpose 👀 pic.twitter.com/10bFJiUTSb
— GOAL (@purpose) April 26, 2022
Whereas England worldwide Phil Foden then made it 3-1 with a thunderous header, Vinicius Junior stored Madrid within the battle with a intelligent nutmeg of compatriot Fernandinho previous to Bernardo Silva firing the Premier League leaders 4-2 to the nice with simply quarter-hour to spare.
However organising what is bound to be an intriguing second assembly on the Bernabeu per week from now, Benzema notched his 14th purpose of the present Champions League marketing campaign within the coolest of fashions.
Feeling no strain in any way, he trotted as much as his 82nd-minute penalty with the arrogance of a veteran within the type of his life and on the cusp of profitable the Ballon d’Or by chipping a cheeky Panenka previous Brazil shotstopper Ederson to ensure that the evening completed 4-3.
⚪️ One other Benzema spotlight of the season, captured from the stands by @TheHasKarim!
The Good penalty.#LLL
🧡🇪🇸⚽️ pic.twitter.com/0JQ78OsRB2— La Liga Lowdown 🧡🇪🇸⚽️ (@LaLigaLowdown) April 26, 2022
Pep's response to Benzema's penalty 😅 pic.twitter.com/yrEp6RPrst
— GOAL (@purpose) April 26, 2022
The hassle was instantly dubbed the “good” spot kick, and “completely outrageous”.
“Not really easy with that environment,” a separate fan additionally famous, as Metropolis boss Pep Guardiola’s response to the comfort purpose additionally went viral.
“Unbelievable. If this man doesn’t win the Ballon D’Or then the world has gone mad,” another person acknowledged.
To that impact, a number of large title Twitter accounts made calls for corresponding to “Give it to him now” in relation to soccer’s highest particular person accolade at present owned by former FC Barcelona rival Lionel Messi, now at Paris Saint Germain.
“Give my boy Benzi the Ballon D’Or,” mentioned ex-teammate Mesut Ozil.
Give it to Karim Benzema now 🔮 pic.twitter.com/vPmbqUKU6i
— GOAL (@purpose) April 26, 2022
What a incredible sport 🤯 Give my boy Benzi the Ballon D'Or 👑☝🏼 #MCIRMA @Benzema @ChampionsLeague
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) April 26, 2022
Unbelievable. If this man doesn’t win the Balon D’Or then the world has gone mad.
— Atlas (@Atlas31828896) April 26, 2022
Exhibiting no indicators of slowing down on the age of 34, it’s onerous to argue that Benzema would not lastly deserve recognition from France Soccer’s panel of journalists who resolve the place the celebrated gong finally ends up.
Final evening, Benzema not solely confirmed the identical management that noticed him rating two comeback hat tips within the final 32 and quarter-finals to dump PSG and Chelsea out of the competitors. He additionally shattered information.
By way of his brace, he grew to become the primary Actual Madrid participant to attain 40 objectives in a season since Ronaldo and can also be the primary participant with eight objectives in a single UCL knockout section since CR7 achieved the feat within the 2016-2017 season the place Los Blancos went on to win the big-eared trophy towards Juventus.
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As issues stand, solely Ronaldo (13) has netted extra objectives within the semifinals of the Champions League in his profession total, with Benzema’s seven tally surpassing Messi’s six.
Taking to Twitter on Wednesday morning, Benzema laid down the gauntlet for the following 90 minutes towards Metropolis the place two unanswered objectives from the La Liga giants would see them attain their first UCL last since 2018.
“The sport has solely simply begun,” Benzema tweeted. “We’re Actual Madrid.”
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙜𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙤𝙣𝙡𝙮 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙜𝙪𝙣… ¡ Somos el Actual Madrid ! ⚔️🤍 #Nueve #HalaMadrid #UCL #Alhamdulilah 🤲🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/e6adMFSzly
— Karim Benzema (@Benzema) April 26, 2022
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