Madrid, April 13 (BNA): With Real Madrid defeated and on the verge of elimination after a strong comeback from defending champions Chelsea, Karim Benzema is back with a strong comeback in the Champions League.
After scoring a hat-trick in the first leg to give Real Madrid a 3-1 lead, Benzema spoiled the English team’s comeback by scoring the crucial goal in extra time on Tuesday to send the Spanish club back to the semi-finals, The Associated Press reported.
After trailing 3-0 at home, Real Madrid fell by two goals to win 5-4 on aggregate despite losing 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
“It was another great night at the Bernabeu,” said Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who created the first goal for the hosts. We suffered but we never gave up. We kept fighting until the end and managed to advance. We gave it our all and showed a great personality.”
Benzema also saved Real Madrid in the round of 16 by scoring a hat-trick in the second half in a 3-1 victory over Paris Saint-Germain after Real Madrid lost 1-0 in Paris and conceded their own early in the Bernabeu.
Benzema’s twelfth goal in the Champions League this season came with a header from Vinicius Junior’s cross after six minutes of extra time.
The hosts looked defeated after losing 3-0 in the league, but substitute Rodrygo equalized the aggregate score in the 80th minute and Madrid found a way to reach the semi-finals for the tenth time in the last 12 seasons.
Chelsea had beaten Real Madrid early and made an advance through goals from Mason Mount in the 15th minute, Antonio Rudiger in the 51st and Timo Werner in 75th place.
“Not many teams can come in here and take over, like we did,” said Rudiger. “On two legs, if you make the kind of mistakes we did, you will be punished.”
Next time, Real Madrid will meet either Manchester City or Atletico Madrid, who will play on Wednesday in the Spanish capital, where City defends its 1-0 lead from the first leg.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has reached the Champions League semi-finals for the eighth time as a coach, equaling the record held by Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola.
“We suffered a lot,” Ancelotti said. “In the end, after 180 minutes, I think we deserved the lead.”
In the second quarter-final on Tuesday, lowly Spanish club Villarreal beat Bayern Munich 2-1 on aggregate after drawing 1-1 in the second leg in Germany.
The loss would add to Chelsea’s turmoil off the pitch amid the club’s forced sale following sanctions in Britain against oligarchic owner Roman Abramovich in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Chelsea beat Real Madrid 3-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals last year on their way to winning their second Champions League title. But Real Madrid could not play at the Bernabeu at that time because the stadium was undergoing major renovations. Instead, the first leg was at the tiny Alfredo Di Stefano stadium in the club’s training center, a match that ended 1-1 before Chelsea won 2-0 in London.
On Tuesday, the defending champions looked the more dangerous side for most of the match, but the two teams had chances in a high-intensity showdown that ran back and forth near the end of regulation.
American substitute Christian Pulisic as Chelsea’s substitute had two good chances to score a crucial goal in stoppage time, but he couldn’t capitalize on them. The visitors also had two chances later in overtime as they pressed for a goal that would take it to a penalty shootout.
The English side started their dream when Mount opened the scoring after quick touches from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Werner caught the Madrid defense by surprise, leaving the striker with an easy shot from inside the area.
The visitors got the second goal with a strong header from Rudiger from a corner kick by Mount, and they thought they had another in the 62nd minute after Marcos Alonso scored from inside the area, but the goal was called after reviewing the video due to a handball.
Instead, the third goal came when Werner scored from close range after a gentle movement to pass the defenders in front of the net, but Real Madrid returned five minutes later with a shot from substitute Rodrygo. It was set up with a superb pass from Luka Modric with the outside of his boot after Chelsea captain N’Golo Kante gave the ball wide with a poor pass near the touchline.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois saved a good attempt to block Kai Havertz a few moments ago.
Benzema, who headed home from the crossbar in the 66th minute, was mostly contained as Real Madrid struggled to move the ball into attack and continued to give Chelsea chances.
But all he needed was a good chance in extra time to make the difference again.