You have to be Karim Benzema to step up to a penalty and chip it with the score against you. A madness that only those number 9s who live for the adventure of scoring goals understand -unforgettable Sebastián Abreu in South Africa 2010- or football geniuses like Zidane in the 2006 Germany final. But this chapter belongs to the 'Gato'.
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At the Etihad Stadium, Real Madrid lost 4-3 to Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League semifinals, but the result leaves them alive for the rematch and the hero once again is Karim Benzema.
Double from the number 9, the first one with a great finish in first touch and the other with a great finish from the penalty spot. Two goals that confirm his best year in his career, with an average that says he has scored one goal per game: 41 in 41.
"Losing is never good, but we have hope with this Champions League and the most important thing is that we never give up," Benzema said after the defeat in Manchester. The rematch will be next Wednesday at the Bernabeu and surely we will experience more emotions.
It was already his best scoring year, but he is adding figures well above his previous records. Last season he scored 30 goals and his best season was 2011-12 when he reached 32 goals in 52 matches. Those 41 goals are distributed as follows: 25 in the League, 2 in the Super Cup, 14 in the Champions League.
With the two goals, he climbed to the top of the Champions League scoring chart with 14 goals, surpassing Robert Lewandowski's 13 and Haller's 11 (both already out of the competition). Of those who remain, Salah has 8. He already doubles the number of goals he had scored in his best European season, the 7 in 11 games in 2011-12.