Jan Aage Fjortoft thinks that the performance of Benzema is nearly perfect. The song is called "1:24."
In the first leg of the quarterfinals, there were wins for Manchester City and Liverpool, a chastening loss for defending champion Chelsea, and a shock for the Germans.
The big questions from the midweek action were given by Rob, Bill, and Bill.
Dawson: No. Benzema is in the form of his life and there isn't a team left in the competition who would want to stop him. Real Madrid are still a team full of top players, but when you have a forward who looks like scoring from every half-chance, it takes the team to a different level. His two first half goals were works of art. He is the best player in the competition.
I could say that Romelu Lukaku is even more important at this point, as it is likely that he will be the difference in this tie. Benzema has 11 goals in eight matches and two hat tricks in three knockout matches this season. Real Madrid's No. 9 gives them a fighting chance against anyone, even though they are favorites because of their team strength.
Benzema is the most important player to his team in the competition. There isn't a comparable replacement for him when he's missing. The range of goals he has scored this season has been quite staggering and the first of his finishes at Stamford Bridge will live long in the memory: an art piece that leaves us wondering how he got that much power on the head. I think it's possible to find a way without Robert Lewandowski in a one-off game. I am not sure if the same applies to Real Madrid.
Luis Diaz was praised by Alejandro Moreno for his contributions in the win over Benfica.
There are so many ways to attack you. Diogo Jota was the one who saved them againstWatford over the weekend. Roberto Firmino did not. Or Jordan Henderson? Instead, Luis Diaz and Naby Keita combined for a goal, an assist, eight shots worth 1.6 xG and completed passes worth 0.7 xA, as well as winning the match away from home. Benfica is the weakest team in the field, but the depth of the attacking options is ridiculous.
You have to go back a long time for the last time that they looked as jittery in the competition as they did in their loss to the Yellow Submarine. Perhaps the last off-key performance was back in 2019. No one gets pass marks, maybe with the exception of Kingsley Coman. One wonders if the decision to risk Alphonso Davies from the start was the wrong one. The damage done by Villarreal could have been much worse. That is one crumb of comfort that can be clinged to. They have 90 minutes to turn the tables in front of their own fans.
The way in which he managed the game in Manchester City's win against Atleti Madrid deserves a lot of credit. It was a surprise that he left both Phil Foden and Jack Grealish on the bench but when they both came on midway through the second half it looked like a planned move. The way Foden picked up the ball in tight spaces changed the game and he was able to take advantage of some tired Atleti legs. The City coach has taken a lot of criticism in the past for getting it wrong, so it is only fair that he gets credit when he gets it right.
Steve Nicol was not happy with the performance of Atleti Madrid.
The funny thing is that they have been searching for a new identity and have shown us their wilder side. That hasn't always paid dividends though, and so it's understandable that Diego Simeone reverted to the approach most fans around the world associate with him and Atleti. The way they played gives the Spanish team a chance. It was never going to be pretty.
I don't think so. Why would he want to become more expansive when he has created a way of playing that has been very successful? Joao Felix andAntoine Griezmann are two good attacking players who take advantage of the situations they create. Over the course of more than a decade with him at the helm, he has won a lot of matches without scoring goals, so he must be doing something right.
The most possession-hungry of all possession teams made perfect sense, and that's what Simeone did in the first leg at Manchester City. You could make the case that Atleti should have kept their 5-5-0 formation for the entire match, as they rendered City completely aimless in possession. They have to score in the return leg, and it will be interesting to see what Simeone does. Real Madrid and Barcelona have scored more goals this season than any other team.
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