Benzema with the Midas touch

After a decade of being the main striker of the European powerhouse Real Madrid, Karim Benzema is probably having the season of his career at the age of 34. "When everything is on the line, Karim Benzema keeps scoring!" TV commentator Alejandro Moreno aptly described the Frenchman, who is the frontrunner to bag this season's Pichichi [Spanish league's top goal-scorer of the season award] with Los Blancos having one hand their 35th La Liga trophy.

Let's rewind to see how the number nine carried the giant Madrid side almost entirely on his shoulder and into the Champions League's final-four hurdle.

Five fired in the group stage: a forewarning

Benzema scored five of Real's 14 goals in the group stage as the Los Blancos progressed as group leaders, ahead of Inter Milan, FC Sheriff Tiraspol and Shakhtar Donetsk. Having remained goalless in the opener against the Italian champions, Benzema opened his mark with a penalty against Sheriff but ended on the losing side. Later, his last-minute slicer in the 5-0 thrashing of Shakhtar and a brace in the returning leg cemented Real's position on top of their group. Against Sheriff, his screamer from outside the box, in hindsight, was only a sign of things to come.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man: Paris humbled

In the first leg of the round of sixteen, home side Paris Saint- Germain were all over Real, who would have been happy to come away with a 1-0 defeat. And when Kylian Mbappe scored again at the return leg, minutes before halftime, it all seemed too daunting of a task for Benzema and Co.

However, "Ninety minutes at the Bernabeu is a very long time," is a popular saying amongst the Madridistas [Fans of Real Madrid] and Benzema was adamant to reinforce that belief and came out all guns blazing in the second half. Right past the hour mark, his tireless pressing forced the Paris keeper into a blunder, and the home side capitalised with Benzema completing the formalities. 15 minutes later, stardust flew all over the Bernabeu as the Frenchman netted twice in two minutes. His hat-trick on the night was enough to propel Real through to the quarters.

King Karim had arrived: unstoppable against Chelsea

Following the PSG parade, it was time for the thirteen-time European Champions to face the defending champions, who had enjoyed a unbeaten run against Madrid until then. The day before the start of what would set the course for a Champions League classic, English legend Alan Shearer warned the London side about the Madrid talisman in his article at The Athletic.

"It goes without saying that Chelsea's main task in their Champions League quarter-final starting at Stamford Bridge tomorrow is to stop him [Benzema] – but that's easier said than done."

Shearer knew it, being a phenomenal striker himself, and Chelsea knew it, being the experienced European campaigners in the last couple of decades. And yet, Benzema slotted two sumptuous headers home in the first half on a rainy night at Stamford Bridge.

It never rains but it pours, as the saying goes, and Chelsea had to suffer further. Typically, when a ball is passed back to the goalkeeper, an average striker would stop for a moment to recover breath. But Benzema is far from being one, someone with an apparent knack of forcing goalkeepers into their worst nightmare. Like how PSG's keeper suffered earlier, Chelsea shot-stopper Edouard Mendy fumbled 30 yards away from the net. Benzema, of course, was there to finish what he triggered to strike a consecutive UCL hat-trick as the first leg ended 3-1 with Real on cloud nine.

At the return leg in the Bernabeu, however, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel exploited Real's defensive weaknesses and Madrid were down 3-0 with 15 minutes left on the clock. Fortunately, a moment of magic from Luka Modric dragged the game towards extra time.

And of course, it was Benzema who had to seal the tie with a header in the extra time as Real were through to the penultimate round despite losing the second leg 3-2.

Perseverance against City

Real Madrid trailed by two goals three times in the semi-final first leg but kept fighting back to ultimately lose by a solitary goal margin in a 4-3 thriller at the Etihad stadium on Tuesday.

With the 13-time Champions League winners on the ropes once more, trailing 2-0, Karim Benzema's predatory instincts gave them a lifeline as his deft finish guided a Ferland Mendy cross into the far, bottom corner in first half.

Benzema's sub-zero nerves were at full display after the Spanish side were awarded a penalty in the final minutes of the game.

The striker, who had missed twice from the spot at Osasuna in the league before their clash against City, ended up pulling a panenka out of his hat to net the seventh and final goal of the encounter.

"I am a very confident man," Benzema said with a smile after the match. The same player had wore a smile once City went 4-2 up as the Frenchman walked towards the centre. 

"I warn our fans to be ready to see something magical, we will win the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu," said the forward who is having an extremely special season.

Ever since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, Los Blancos are yet to win the most elite trophy of club football after winning it three on the trot. However, a change of script looks like in store, as legendary commentator Martin Tyler said, "Everything Karim Benzema touches, turns to gold."