manager Carlo Ancelotti admitted he was surprised by Karim Benzema’s outrageous Panenka penalty against , but never once thought about taking his star striker off spot kick duty, despite his questionable recent record.
The veteran striker enhanced his Ballon d’Or credentials with another exhibition of deadly finishing against the Premier League champions, with two goals that kept a blockbuster semi-final in the balance ahead of next week’s second leg.
City dominated large spells of last night’s epic contest but will take only a one-goal lead to the Bernabeu, owing chiefly to Benzema’s ruthlessness in front of goal.
The 34-year-old halved City’s lead after they had raced into a 2-0 advantage with a smartly taken volley, and scored his second goal of a pulsating contest with eight minutes remaining, impudently chipping the ball over a stranded Ederson, momentarily silencing the Etihad Stadium.
In the process, Benzema took his astonishing personal tally for the season to 46 goals in total for club and country, but his record from 12 yards has been far from flawless. The former Lyon star had missed three of his previous four attempts, including two against Osasuna last weekend.
Asked for his reaction to Benzema’s ice cool finish in his post-match press conference, an equally unflappable Ancelotti said: ‘We have never thought about changing the taker. I didn’t know how he would shoot it.
‘He has trained a bit this week, but I didn’t know where he would shoot it. It surprised me a bit.’
While Benzema last the full 90 minutes, fellow old stager Luka Modric, 37, was withdrawn in the closing stages, despite his own spellbinding performance at the heart of Real’s midfield engine room,
‘Karim played a great game, as always,’ added Ancelotti. ‘He had the personality to shoot the penalty spectacularly.
‘Modric played a great game, but sometimes putting in a fresh player for 10-15 minutes helps you to have the ball.
‘I didn’t take him off because he was playing badly. Ceballos has done very well, he has entered with a lot of personality.’
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