Winner 2-0 in the first leg, Real Madrid moves on the lawn of Chelsea in the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League on Tuesday.
“He plays against us”. Se thinking away from the cameras, Karim Benzema had gotten flustered about his team-mate Vinicius Jr at half-time in a Champions League game against Mönchengladbach in October 2020. Two and a half years later, the two men shine together in this competition, and will be closely watched by Chelsea defenders on Tuesday, April 18, in the quarter-final second leg. The people of Madrid won 2-0 in the first leg and are counting in particular on their two attackers to ensure their qualification in the last four.
Their complementarity is obvious and was even more underlined during the last Clasico, at the beginning of April, against Barca in the King’s Cup (4-0 victory). Facing the sworn enemy, Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior had fun, offering each other a decisive pass, not to mention the penalty converted by the Frenchman… and provoked by the Brazilian. A fairly common situation this season, since the two men have combined together on twelve goals in all competitions (one providing an assist to the other). Better still, between them, they are decisive in 51% of Madrid’s goals this season.
An even greater impact in the Champions League
“I believe they are the best pair of strikers in the world. I see them training very hard. For me, it’s no surprise to see them playing like this. In the locker room, Karim is a leader, he tries to carry the team and help the youngest like Vini”, assured their teammate David Alaba before the first leg against Chelsea. A meeting during which the two attackers took care of their statistics again, with a new achievement for the last Ballon d’Or, and an assist for the Brazilian, who is now involved in 30 goals in his last 43 C1 with Real Madrid (14 goals and 16 assists).
Despite a tactical plan put in place by the Blues to prevent him from weighing in the game, Vinicius had shown himself to be very much to his advantage. “In one-on-one, Vinicius is a big problem for any team. That’s partly why we played five behind, to be outnumbered on his side, but he’s a very difficult player to play. control”regretted Franck Lampard, the Chelsea coach. “It’s almost impossible to stop him, because he never stops running”completed, Monday, in a press conference, his teammate in club and selection, Eder Militao.
“I had a hard time getting Karim out because I still wanted to take advantage of his talent on the pitch.”
Carlo Ancelotti sur Karim Benzemaat a press conference after the victory in Cadiz
Also in great shape, Karim Benzema scored four goals and provided an assist in the three games of the knockout phase. Back since the start of the year, after his withdrawal from the World Cup, he has been accumulating playing time, even if Carlo Ancelotti is trying to preserve his goal machine. “There is a 35-year-old player who played a fantastic game on Wednesday night (against Chelsea)and who replays another fantastic match three days later (Saturday, against Cadiz). Karim, it’s the signal that the team is doing very well physically (…) “said the Madrid coach after the La Liga match.
The insatiable Frenchman once again intends to be decisive against his favorite victims, English clubs, since each of his last 11 Champions League goals has come against Premier League clubs.
