Contributing to helping Man City kick Bayern to go straight to the Champions League semi-finals in 2022/23, Erling Haaland is being praised to the sky. But, Haaland will most likely cry again because of an old Benzema of Real when Man City confronts Real in the semi-finals.
The name Erling Haaland has just been praised by Man City fans endlessly after the Norwegian striker scored the opening goal for Man City in a 1-1 draw against Bayern in the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Champions League 2022. /23 took place early this morning (April 20). Haaland scored two goals in two matches against Bayern in the quarter-finals, and made a big contribution to helping Man City defeat the Gray Lobster with a total score of 4-1 after two matches.
On May 9, Haaland and Man City will face Real Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final.
“Haaland explodes. Haaland flourishes. With Haaland, there is victory”. Those are the words that the crazy fans of Man City try to praise the striker who is in top form.
Haaland is now like a guardian angel for Man City on the journey to conquer the peak of glory in Europe’s most prestigious arena.
Need to know, the 22-year-old striker has scored a total of 35 goals in 27 Champions League appearances so far. Of course, Man City fans are very much looking forward to the cannon called Haaland, which will again fire loudly, showing prestige against Real in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu.
But Real is not a dreamer. Just looking at how they beat Chelsea with a total score of 4-0 over 2 matches in the quarter-finals of the Champions League this season is enough to see the immense potential power of the defending champion.
And above all, Real still has a “King Benzema” with seasoned experience in the Champions League. Although this year is 35 years old, the French striker still shows perseverance, constantly “releases bullets” in the style of “the older the ginger, the more spicy it is”.
Except for the 2-0 win over Chelsea in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-finals, the veteran French striker had previously scored four goals in three consecutive appearances for Real in the Champions League this season.
Broadly speaking, Benzema currently has a total of 90 goals in the Champions League. Benzema only needs 1 more goal to rise to par with Robert Lewandowski, ranked 3rd in the list of the greatest strikers of this arena.
Along with that is extremely valuable experience for Benzema to know how to speak up at the right time, in the right place at the crucial moment of the match. Another detail worth noting is that Benzema also showed the charm of scoring in the Champions League semi-finals. Specifically, “King Benzema” has scored 8 goals in 16 appearances in the Champions League semi-finals.
Even Haaland’s Man City was once a victim of Benzema. It was the French striker who scored 3 goals against Man City after 2 matches in the semi-finals of the Champions League 2021/22.
Perhaps because of that, some people think that, although Haaland is in top form, but in a Champions League semi-final, Benzema is the scary “old silver”. In other words, Haaland and his teammates at Man City are not smart to “cry” because an old striker like Benzema always knows how to shine at the right time.