Benzema scores his 89th Champions League goal as Real progress
What's the story
Veteran striker Karim Benzema netted his 89th UEFA Champions League goal as Real Madrid reached the quarter-finals at Liverpool's expense. Coming into the round of 16 second-leg tie with a 5-2 cushion, Benzema scored for Real in the 78th minute at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real won 6-2 on aggregate. Benzema, who has been a leading forward in the competition, enhanced his numbers.
Benzema
Benzema clocks these numbers
Benzema now has 89 goals in the UCL and is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (140), Lionel Messi (129), and Robert Lewandowski (91). Benzema scored his 77th UCL goal for Real Madrid, having netted 12 for former club Lyon. As per Opta, Benzema has also raced to 33 goals in the knockout stages of the competition. Ronaldo (67) and Messi (49) are above him.
Goals
342 goals for Real Madrid
Benzema scored his 3rd Champions League goal in the 2022-23 season from six games. He also has one assist. Across competitions this season, Benzema has raced to 19 goals from 28 games. He has scored 11 goals in 15 La Liga matches. Benzema now has 342 goals in 633 games for Los Blancos, including 230 in La Liga.
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Benzema extends his run versus Premier League clubs
As per Squawka, Benzema has now been involved in 10 goals versus Premier League clubs since the start of last season (G8 A2). Benzema has scored more European Cup/Champions League goals against Liverpool than any other player in the competition's history (7).
Real
Real oust Liverpool for the 3rd successive season
Real have now ousted Liverpool from the Champions League in three successive seasons. Real prevailed against the Reds in the UCL 2020-21 quarters before beating them in the final last season before this campaign. As per Squawka, no team has beaten Liverpool more times since Jurgen Klopp took charge than Real Madrid (5).
Numbers
Contrasting records for the two clubs
As per Opta, Real reached their 19th Champions League quarter-finals and only Bayern Munich have clocked more in the history of the competition (21, including this edition). Liverpool faced their heaviest aggregate loss (6-2) over two legs in a UCL knockout tie. Real have progressed from 27 of their previous 28 European Cup/Champions League knockout ties when winning the first leg away from home.