Only a true horror show from Real Madrid will prevent them from sending Liverpool out of the Champions League.
It’s incredible hard to imagine Real Madrid squandering a three-goal cushion. Even if the visitors play as well as they did against Manchester United two weeks ago. But can the Reds do it again? They lost 1-0 to Bournemouth on the weekend with a strong side which was less than ideal preparation.
Karim Benzema missed Madrid’s LaLiga win over Espanyol on Saturday with an ankle issue but is expected to return to face Liverpool at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday in a last 16 second leg clash.
Last season Benzema captained Madrid to Champions League glory, with the 1-0 win over Liverpool in the final securing a record 14th triumph.
Benzema was crucial in Madrid’s wild run to Paris, scoring a remarkable 17-minute hat-trick in the last 16 to knock out Paris Saint-Germain.
The forward netted another hat-trick at Stamford Bridge in the quarterfinals to put Chelsea on the ropes and clinched the tie for his team with an extra-time winner in the second leg.
Manchester City suffered the same fate in the semifinals, with Benzema netting twice at the Etihad in the first leg then slotting home a penalty to send Madrid through to the final, in extra-time again at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Benzema finished as the competition’s top scorer, with 15 goals, and scored 44 in 46 games across all competitions last season, as Madrid lifted the double.
That magic has been sprinkled less liberally this season, although Liverpool had a taste at Anfield in the first leg as Madrid ran out 5-2 winners, with Benzema netting twice, his first goals in this season’s edition.
It was a display of lethal finishing, leaving Jurgen Klopp’s side shell-shocked after they had raced into a two-goal lead.
Benzema’s brace took the forward to 88 in the Champions League in his career and he will hope to overtake Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski on 91 as the third top scorer of all time in the competition.
Both players are reaching the end of their storied careers and eyes are turning to the future.
With Benzema’s destiny yet to be decided, PSG’s Champions League exit last week proved an opportunity for some Spanish news outlets to rekindle links with Kylian Mbappe.