Manchester City defeated Real Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of the semi-finals of UEFA Champions League at Etihad Stadium.
City, looking to reach the final for a second straight year, was 2-0 ahead after 11 minutes — through goals by Kevin De Bruyne in 2′ and Gabriel Jesus in 11′. Karim Benzema scored one back in 33′ for the visitors. Phil Foden again secured a two goals lead for Manchester City in 53′ while Vini Jr scored one back in 55′ for Real Madrid. Bernando Silva scored the fourth goal for the host in 74′ to give City 4-2 lead. However, Benzema scored his second goal of the match through penalty in 82′ to keep Real Madrid’s hope alive for the second leg.
After hat-trick agianst Chelsea and brace against Manchester City, Karim Benzema is the first player in Champions League history to score as many as five goals away from home in the knockout stages against clubs from a single nation in a season.
He has now scored more UCL semi-final goals (7) than Lionel Messi (6). With 14 goals, Benzema went level with Lionel Messi’s best UCL season, which was the 2011-12 Champions League season.
Picture Courtesy: UEFA Media
