Karim Benzema is often a quiet figure in the dressing room, but there are pointed moments when the striker feels the need to speak up. One came at half-time during the Champions League second leg against Paris Saint-Germain when Real Madrid were trailing 2-0 on aggregate and seemingly heading out at the last-16 stage without much of a fight.
“Do not panic,” he told his teammates. “Because PSG will panic. We’ve seen it before. We only conceded because we were attacking. There’s no shame in that. Be careful for the counter-attack but, if we press them, they will panic.”
