Behind Karim Benzema's Real Madrid rise and the role Cristiano Ronaldo played

Manchester City narrowly overcame Real Madrid 4-3 in one of the all-time great Champions League clashes on Wednesday night as the two sides met in the first leg of their semi-final tie.

The hosts started the game ferociously and steamed to a 2-0 lead inside the opening 15 minutes of the game. Madrid weathered out the heavy City pressure though and pulled themselves back into the game thanks to a superbly finished strike from Karim Benzema just past the half-hour mark. That was his 13th Champions League goal of the campaign.

Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva and Vinicius Jr all got on the scoresheet before Benzema grabbed his 14th in the competition with just eight minutes to go courtesy of a stunning chipped Panenka penalty.

That goal took his tally across all competitions this season to a remarkable 41, while the Frenchman boasts another ten assists on top of that, shedding light on why many now consider him to be the most complete forward in the world.

Although Benzema has been considered one of Europe’s top forwards for much of his 13 years in Madrid, it’s only in recent seasons that his brilliance has truly been lauded, and many put this down to Cristiano Ronaldo ’s departure from the Spanish capital in 2018.

Ronaldo was the face of Madrid, their crown jewel and revered talisman. The team revolved around getting the best from him, meaning the likes of Benzema were often forced to play deferred roles in the team.

In the Portuguese star’s final campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, then manager Zinedine Zidane often lined his side up in a variation of a 4-4-2, with Benzema expected to be a facilitator rather than a goal-getter. He finished the campaign with just five league goals, but ten assists.

That proved to be the