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Madrid, Villarreal make Champions League semi-finals

Published:Wednesday | April 13, 2022 | 12:11 AM
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (right) celebrates after he scored his side’s second goal during the Champions League, quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, yesterday.
AP
Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema (right) celebrates after he scored his side’s second goal during the Champions League, quarterfinal second leg soccer match between Real Madrid and Chelsea at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid, Spain, yesterday.

WITH REAL Madrid looking beaten and on the verge of elimination after a fierce comeback by defending champion Chelsea, Karim Benzema came up big once again in the Champions League.

Having scored a hat-trick in the first leg to give Madrid a 3-1 lead, Benzema spoiled the English team’s comeback by netting the decisive goal in extra time on Tuesday to put the Spanish club back into the semi-finals. After trailing 3-0 at home, Madrid pulled two goals back to secure a 5-4 aggregate victory despite a 3-2 loss at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

“It was another incredible night at the Bernabéu,” said Madrid midfielder Luka Modric, who set up the hosts first goal. “We suffered but we never gave up. We kept fighting until the end and managed to advance. We gave everything we had and showed great character.”

Benzema also saved Madrid in the round of 16 by scoring a second-half hat-trick in a 3-1 win against Paris Saint-Germain after Madrid had lost 1-0 in Paris and conceded early at the Bernabéu.

Over in Munich, there would have been room enough in Bayern’s stadium for the entire population of Villarreal to celebrate with them on Tuesday after the team reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2006.

75,000-CAPACITY ARENA

Such are the disparities in size and status between these clubs, that all 50,000 residents of the southeastern Spanish city could fit into Bayern’s 75,000-capacity Allianz Arena.

“We are a small city but they are strong players,” Villarreal coach Unai Emery said after his team earned a late 1-1 draw that secured a 2-1 aggregate victory in the quarter-finals.

Villarreal had won the first leg 1-0 at home when it squandered chances for an even bigger lead, and Bayern had levelled the aggregate score when Robert Lewandowski netted seven minutes into the second half. This time it was Bayern that missed chances to score again, and Samuel Chukwueze completed a counter-attack in the 88th minute to extend Villarreal surprising run in the competition.

AP