Karim Benzema: So close to Ronaldo's UEFA Champions League goals record

Real Madrid player Karim Benzema magic reigned over the first semifinal leg of Manchester City vs Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League. Madrid however ended on the losing side with a one goal deficit. Benzema's brace and a daring Vinicius Jr goal saw Real Madrid score three goals while De Bruyne, Foden, Jesus and Silva combined to give Manchester City Four goals on the board at the Etihad Stadium.

He now has also helped Real Madrid reach the final of the UEFA Champions League once again as Real Madrid did the impossible and turned it into possible with the help of Karim Benzema's late penalty kick at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Manchester City won the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium but one player shined once again and he didn't belong to the home side. Karim Benzema scored a cool brace to further compliment his already extraordinary performance in this UCL season.

Manchester City leading with two quick goals saw Benzema decrease the difference with a crucial no-look goal after a pass from Mendy. The second goal from Benzema was as cool as ever when he dared to score a panenka in a UCL semifinal from the penalty spot.

Karim Benzema is also the first player to score 40+ goals in a single season for Real Madrid since Cristiano Ronaldo left them in 2018, with Ronaldo the last to do so for the club in 2017-18 with 44 goals.

Benzema currently leads the goal scoring sheet this season in the Champions League with 15 goals. Second in is Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski who has scored 13 goals but with the German side knocked out, the Frenchman has a clear chance of ending with the golden boot for the tournament and adding positively to the already heated debate to hand over the Ballon D'or Award to him.

This was the seventh meeting between Manchester City and Real Madrid in European competitions. Pep Guardiola may become the first manager to knock Real Madrid out of the Champions League on three different occasions.

He knocked Madrid out when he was with Barcelona in the 2010-11 season in the semifinals, and again with Manchester City in 2019-20 during the Round of 16. Kevin De Bruyne, Gabriel Jesus, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva were on target for Pep Guardiola's men, who should have scored many more.

But Karim Benzema's double and a brilliant individual effort from Vinicius Junior gave Madrid hope of another famous Champions League fightback at the Santiago Bernabeu on May 4.