Real Madrid are gearing up for their toughest matchup of the 2021/22 season yet, as they must face a team recognized as the world’s best in Manchester City. The first leg of the Champions League semifinal will be at the Etihad Stadium, and like in the first leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, the Merengues need to make the match count with a strong start to the tie.
Let’s take a look at five players who could have Man of the Match-level performances and lead the Merengues to victory in the first leg this Tuesday night.
CF Karim Benzema
We begin with the man who was instrumental in Real Madrid even getting here. Karim Benzema’s back-to-back Champions League hat-tricks against PSG and Chelsea will go down in the history books, and he also scored the tie-saving final goal against the Blues in the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Benzema obviously offers so much more than goals, but the decisive goals he provides end up being the most important contribution of them all. Without Benz, Real Madrid would not be competing among the top teams in Europe. They would be sitting at home.
With another sensational performance in the Champions League against Manchester City, Benzema could just about definitively seal his place as the 2022 Ballon d’Or winner after being robbed from the podium last year.
There is no doubt that Benzema is the most likely player to win the Man of the Match in any given game he is playing, and that includes consideration of any star players on the other team. He has a way of transcending football on the biggest stage.