)
Benzema spoke after the Champions League encounter against Liverpool, and he was full of praise for his team's character in getting a victory away from home.
Karim Benzema sang praises of his team's character following the comeback victory against Liverpool, saying his team played with personality and a mentality for big games.
Real Madrid defeated Liverpool 5-2 at Anfield on Tuesday night to take a three-goal advantage into the second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Advantage Real Madrid
Liverpool took the early lead on a fourth-minute Darwin Nunez strike before doubling their advantage ten minutes later thanks to Mohammed Salah.
The turnaround began in the 21st minute of the game when Vinicius scored for the hosts. The Brazilian pulled the game level in the 36th minute before Eder Militao put Los Blancos ahead for the first time in the game just after half-time.
)
The inevitable talisman Karim Benzema struck for the first time in the game in the 55th minute to make it 4-2 before grabbing his own brace in the 81st minute.
The former French international believes his team played with personality and were driven by the desire to defend their crown.
"We played with personality, we produced goals—we want this Champions League again,” he said, per the BBC.
”And that produced a match which was lovely to play in and for those who were watching.
Benzema acknowledges his team's slow start and attributes it to the Anfield atmosphere, but says his team settled into the game, as is evident in the scoreline, and started to apply themselves.
"We started a little poorly. We knew that the Anfield fans were going to put us under pressure but after those first 15 minutes we saw the true Real Madrid. Football at this level is hard. They started better than us but this was a big game and we were ready.
"When you know it's a vital game and you're 2-0 down you want more. A goal can change any game and that's what happened from Vinicius Junior today. I want to thank our fans here, they were our 12th man all night. We'll need them again in the second leg and we'll need to produce a great match in the Bernabeu."
‘I've never experienced a night like tonight in football’ - Rudiger
Antonio Rudiger, who himself was on the receiving end of this brand of Real Madrid performance while he was at Chelsea, marvelled at Real Madrid’s performance on the day, claiming he had never seen anything like that in his football career.
)
"It's crazy. I saw during the match that we still believed in it, but to come back like that is just crazy,” he told DAZN, per the BBC.
"We told ourselves we just needed one goal—and we did that quickly. After that we were back in the game. I've never experienced a night like tonight in football."
Rudiger played the full 90 minutes in the game, and he came close to registering on the scoresheet late on, like his defensive partner, Militao, did early in the second-half.
Related content
)
23:36 - 21.02.2023
UCL Salah becomes Liverpool’s top scorer in European competition
Salah moved clear of Gerrard to become Liverpool's all-time top-scorer in Europe
)
23:00 - 21.02.2023
UCL Howlers and heartbreak as Liverpool throw away 2-goal lead against Real Madrid
Real Madrid become first away team to score five goals at Anfield in the Champions League
)
20:41 - 21.02.2023
LIVE As it happened: Real Madrid seals comeback against Liverpool as Osimhen puts Napoli in driving seat
Real Madrid came back from two goals down to thrash Liverpool while Victor Osimhen scored as Napoli beat Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0
)
09:16 - 21.02.2023
UCL Klopp responds to bizarre Vinicius Junior question
Jurgen Klopp provided a strong response after a journalist suggested Vinicius Junior could sometimes provoke racist abuse.
)
23:35 - 20.02.2023
UCL Benitez takes credit for Zidane’s first Champions League title with Madrid
The former Liverpool manager insists he laid the groundwork for Real Madrid’s success in Europe in 2016.
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)