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Karim Benzema‘s decisive extra-time goal showcased his intelligence, movement and lethal finishing ability, according to Thierry Henry.
The Real Madrid striker scored his fourth goal of the tie against Chelsea at a crucial time, cutting the deficit to 3-2 on the night and 5-4 on aggregate.
Henry was in the studio as a pundit for CBS Sports and waxed lyrical about his compatriot’s attacking play.
He brought up the replay of the move and spoke about how Benzema saw the play unfold in his head before it happened.
The former Arsenal legend explained: ‘It was special and I hope nobody fell asleep because you need to watch this.
‘The way he goes, you see it, he is going to go close, then he backpedals. What he did, is go to Vinicius Jr, saw they had the time and connected with the eyes, then went back to make sure he was facing the goal, to attack the ball and put it back where the ball came from.
‘The goalkeeper will always go across his goal so he put it where he has come from.
‘He knew he was out of the angle, he thinks “okay let me readjust my frame, we’ve connected, now let me finish”.’
Benzema has been on incredible form this season for Carlo Ancelotti’s side and is carrying the team in the Champions League.
At 34, he seems to be the complete striker and is thriving on the responsibility of leading the line having spent years as the understudy in the Spanish capital.
He has 12 goals in 9 Champions League games this season so far this term and 24 in 27 LaLiga matches. Four more in the Copa del Rey brings his running total to 40 and counting.
If Real are to progress past Manchester City or Atletico in the next round, the talismanic Frenchman is likely to be a key figure once again.