On October 4, 2002, before the game, Benzema was going to enter Stamford Bridge, with headphones on and a distracted air, when the security guard asked him for the pass. The Frenchman, who did not have his accreditation, could not believe that the ‘steward’ not recognize him and let him in. Then Ancelotti appeared, with his usual talent, and told him: “Run fast or you won’t be able to play!” Obviously, Karim found the pass and even if he hadn’t shown up, he would have entered.
And then he ‘revenge’ scoring the three goals in the madridistas’ win. He failed to score against Chelsea in the return, but he was active in a tie that crowned Rodrygo. Carletto then praised him, noting that “Karim is getting better every day, like a good wine. Every day he is more of a leader, he feels more and more important in this team and in this squad.
And I think that’s what makes the difference”. This time he arrived on the field without any problem, with his player’s accreditation and a smile from the ‘steward’. In fact, the commotion at his entrance was due to the arrival of the king emeritus, which coincided in time with the disembarkation of the madridistas.
All the spotlights were on Karim. The data scared the local parish. Benzema had 14 goals and two assists in the last nine Champions League qualifying games, the last 11 goals being against English teams. It is true that this year the scoring rate had dropped, but after the World Cup it has skyrocketed again.
Rodrygo explodes
It started with an incident that conditioned the rest of the game. In a long ball, Thiago Silva accidentally stepped on his instep and the Frenchman did not finish recovering from the set. But he did not hide. He began to drop to help the ball out and the space he freed up. A dazzling Rodrygo began to take advantage of it.
The Brazilian came from being the best in Cádiz and in London he put the team on his back. He warned with a shot to the post in the first half, and given the special vigilance that Vinicius was subjected to, he gained prominence. Until in the 58th minute he received a through ball from Militao, winning by centimeters the crossing to a rival defense. All this with Courtois in his usual plan of undaunted hero.
obligation to win
He planted himself on the bottom line and put a measured pass to Benzema, who narrowly missed. But the ball fell to Vinicius’s feet at the far post and the Brazilian, instead of shooting, assisted Rodrygo, who joined the shot and scored a crucial goal. The second was signed by pushing a goal whose authorship corresponded to Valverde. Rodrygo was once again key with his goals, like last year against Chelsea, the goal that led the game to extra time, and the two against City.
“I don’t know how to explain what happens with this competition. It’s very special for me. Every time I’ve played I’ve been able to do something. I want to continue like this, scoring more goals and winning,” said Rodrygo after the match, who acknowledged that “it’s a pleasure to be in Real Madrid, the biggest team in the world, where it is mandatory to win and reach the final. We hope to continue like this “. The Brazilian was crowned before the emeritus and his momentum is once again key on the way to the Fifteenth.