Champions League, Man City beat Real Madrid 4-3: Records broken
Manchester City have beaten Real Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at the Etihad. Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus put City 2-0 ahead early on. Veteran Karim Benzema pulled one back for Real in the 33rd minute. Phil Foden scored the third for City before there were three more goals in an enthralling contest.
Records for KDB and Benzema
De Bruyne scored for City after 93 seconds to give his side the lead. As per Opta, the Belgian's opening goal was the earliest Manchester City have ever scored from the start of any Champions League match. Benzema has become the first player to score 40+ goals in a single season for Real Madrid (41) since Cristiano Ronaldo left them in 2018.
85 Champions League goals for Benzema
Benzema has scored 41 goals for Real Madrid this season in all competitions. As per Opta, he is now the fifth player to reach this figure in a single season in club's history, after Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Alfredo Di Stefano and Hugo Sanchez. Benzema has scored 14 UCL goals this season, surpassing Robert Lewandowski (13). Overall, he has netted 85 Champions League goals.
Feats attained by Benzema and Kroos
Benzema has now scored in every knockout game this season in the UCL. As per Opta, Toni Kroos made his 15th appearance in a Champions League semi-final match. He has matched the record for a German player, held by Thomas Müller. Notably, Kroos has started in each of those 15 games (Müller started 11).
Notable team records scripted in the match
As per Opta, Manchester City have won each of their last three Champions League meetings with Real Madrid. In fact, no other English club has won more than two matches overall against Real in the competition. City and Real's seven-goal thriller is the joint-highest scoring ever Champions League semi-final, along with Ajax 5-2 Bayern Munich (April 1995) and Liverpool 5-2 Roma (April 2018).
Other major records scripted in the match
As per Opta, no English player has scored more goals in the Champions League while aged 21 or younger than Man City's Phil Foden (9, level with Wayne Rooney). As per Squawka, Benzema has now scored 14 career goals against the current top three in the Premier League (Chelsea, Man City, and Chelsea). Pep Guardiola has beaten Real 12 times in his career.
Unique record for Benzema
After scoring a hat-trick against Chelsea and two goals tonight versus Man City, Benzema is the first player in Champions League history to score as many as five goals away from home in the knockout stages against clubs from a single nation in a season.
How did the match pan out?
De Bruyne scored the opening goal with a diving header from Riyad Mahrez's cross in the second minute. Jesus added a second from close range next. Benzema slotted home Ferland Mendy's cross. City restored their two-goal advantage when an unmarked Foden headed home Fernandinho's cross. Vinicius helped Real make a comeback. However, Silva added City's fourth before Benzema netted a Panenka penalty.
