Karim Benzema has warned Manchester City that Real Madrid “will do something magical” in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu next week.
City will take a 4-3 lead to Madrid after a thrilling first leg at the Etihad on Tuesday night but their advantage could have been much bigger had it not been for Benzema’s double.
The Real Madrid captain pulled one back after City made a lightning start, with Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus scoring inside 11 minutes, before his late Panenka penalty again reduced City’s two-goal lead following Bernardo Silva’s strike.
It keeps the tie in the balance and Benzema, who now has scored nine goals in five Champions League knock-out games this season, has backed his team to pull off another comeback after hanging in the tie.
Real Madrid have made home advantage count on their Champions League journey so far, after they fought from two goals down to defeat Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16 as Benzema scored a hat-trick, and then salvaged their quarter-final against Chelsea thanks to Benzema’s winner in extra-time.
“A defeat is never good,” Benzema told Movistar after the first leg. “The most important thing is we never gave up until the end. Now we have to go to the Bernabeu. We’ll need the fans like never before. We’ll do something magical, which is to win.”
Benzema’s stunning Panenka penalty kept the tie alive as the Real Madrid striker chipped Ederson. It came after Benzema had missed two penalties in his last game, with Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti saying Benzema had to change his technique in order to score.
“If you never take a penalty, you’ll never miss a penalty,” Benzema said. “I have a lot of self-confidence.”
