Benzema breaks Manchester City to send Madrid into Champions League final

France international Karim Benzema continued his fairytale goal-scoring run in the Champions League knockout stages with an extra-time winner from the penalty spot to take Real Madrid into the final of the competition at the Stade de France on 28 May.

Karim Benzema scored Real Madrid's extra-time winner to take them into the Champions League final against Liverpool. It was his 10th goal in the knockout stages of this season's compeitition. REUTERS - JUAN MEDINA

After scoring a hat trick in the 3-2 aggregate win over Paris Saint Germain in February, the 34-year-old scored four of Madrid's five goals in the 5-4 aggregate victory over holders Chelsea in the last eight.

And he hit three more to take his tally to 10 in the pulsating 6-5 aggregate win over Manchester City in the semis.

His marksmanship will give Madrid the chance to win a record-extending 14th title in European club football's most prestigious competition when they face Liverpool at the end of the month.

Deficit

City went into the game at the Santiago Bernabeu nursing a 4-3 lead from the first leg at the Etihad on 27 April.

And when Riyad Mahrez opened the scoring in the 73rd minute, it gave them a foot in the final.

But substitute Rodrygo struck twice in two minutes in stoppage time to take the tie into extra-time.

Benzema completed the comeback with a penalty in the first-half of extra-time and Madrid held on.

“We need one or two days but we will rise, we will come up,” said City boss Pep Guardiola.

Attempt

"We did everything we could," he added. “We were so close to reaching a Champions League final.

"We didn’t play that well in the first-half but we were much better in the second-half. We controlled the game and we found the goal. Unfortunately, we could not finish it when we were close.”

City will lick their wounds and attempt to recover for Sunday afternoon's Premier League match against Newcastle United.

By the time they kick off at the Etihad, the Premier League pacesetters could be trailing Liverpool by two points.

The Merseysiders host Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Saturday night.

While Liverpool and City battle it out for the Premier League crown, Madrid can showboat. They clinched a record-extending 35th Spanish top fliught title last weekend with a 4-0 annihilation of Espanyol.

The conquest furnished Madrid boss Caro Ancelotti with the accolade of becoming the first man to coach title-winning sides in Italy, England, Germany, France and Spain.

"The magic of the Bernabeu is true," Ancelotti told British broadcaster BT Sport after the win over City.

"Because the game was almost over and we tried to find our last reserves of energy against a really strong rival. Psychologically we were stronger in extra-time because of how it happened."