Benzema is in the form of his life, having netted 39 times in 40 appearances across all competition for the Los Blancos this season.
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Manchester City midfielder Rodri was full of praise for Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema ahead of the first leg of the Champions League semi-final fixture on Tuesday. The Spaniard admits Man City must stop the Frenchman in order to get the better of the La Liga giants. Benzema is in the form of his life, having netted 39 times in 40 appearances across all competition for the Los Blancos this season so far, 12 of those goals have come in the Champions League.
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? @Benzema#UCL pic.twitter.com/3I9MD5vdn0— Real Madrid C.F. ???? (@realmadriden) April 25, 2022
Benzema has played a pivotal role in Madrid’s run to the semi-finals. The Frenchman netted two hat-tricks in the last two rounds of the competition, knocking out Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. The 34-year-old has scored seven times in his last three Champions League games.
“He is in the best moment of his career,” Rodri told reporters when quizzed on Benzema after City’s 5-1 victory over Watford on Saturday. “He understands every part of the game and is scoring goals, important goals.
“I would say f**king hell, this guy is amazing in every game and he not only scores goals but makes his team feel comfortable with the ball and as Ancelotti says he is the modern striker in football so we have to be aware of him and all of Real Madrid.
“I played against him for a few years and he is a great player but not only him, in terms of quality they always have that.”
Rodri played a crucial role in his team’s 1-0 quarter-final win over Atletico Madrid over two legs. The Spaniard was very impressive, especially in the second leg at Wanda Metropolitano where he sat in front of the back four and did a fabulous job to help his side earn a goalless draw.
However, Real Madrid’s attacking quality is much more lethal and has more quality than that of Atletico and City’s defence will have to be at their best to cope with them.
“This is a team that of course have the experience of the competition and wait for their opportunity,” Rodri added. “This is the best thing about them.
“They are not consistent over 90 minutes but are always dangerous. We have to be aware. The first game is here at home so we have to do our best.”
The semi-final tie is likely to be a high-scoring game as both teams play an attacking brand of football. Man City are coming into the match on the back of a 5-1 Premier League win over Watford while Madrid defeated Osasuna 3-1 to move closer to the La Liga title, they need just one more point to secure the trophy.
