The first leg of the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League semi-finals will kick off with a high-profile clash between Real Madrid and Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabeu. With ambitions to lift the prestigious silver trophy of European football, both of these “giants” possess “heavy weapons” in attack, namely Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema.
King of the penalty box Erling Haaland
Haaland is now like a guardian angel for Man City on their journey to conquer the pinnacle of glory in the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League. The Norwegian star is shining brightly in Europe's most prestigious arena. The 22-year-old player has scored 12 goals out of 26 goals for The Citizens in this arena.
Haaland is in excellent form.
This number of goals is helping Haaland lead the Champions League scoring list this year. The top scorer title is likely to be difficult to escape from the hands of The Citizens striker when he surpasses the second place by 6 goals.
The 22-year-old striker's strengths are his speed and great stamina. Haaland has achieved a sprint speed of up to 36km/h. This is a number commonly seen in track and field athletes. In addition, the Norwegian striker is a particularly dangerous player in the opponent's penalty area. Of the 12 goals he has scored in the European arena, 9 have been scored in the penalty area.
The Norwegian striker has great physical strength.
With extraordinary physical strength, Erling Haaland has a classy acceleration and pressing ability. The players marking this 22-year-old striker are defeated by him very easily in 1-1 confrontations. Facing the 30-year-old central defender duo Alaba and Rudiger of Real Madrid, Haaland can fully utilize his speed and youth to "collapse" the defense system of the home team Santiago Bernabeu.
Striker Karim Benzema
If Man City owns the “killer” Erling Haaland, Real Madrid also has a brave and cunning Benzema. Although he no longer shows the fearsome form as in the Champions League last season, Benzema’s role in the Los Blancos squad is still very important.
The French striker is the soul of Real Madrid's playing style.
Unlike Haaland, Benzema is not a player who is always “on duty” in the penalty area. The Frenchman moves around the 16m50 box to attract the attention of the opposing defense, creating space for wingers like Vinicius or Rodrygo to finish.
In addition, Benzema's clever moves, sneaking behind the opponent's defense, also help him always have an ideal position to score.
Although he doesn't score too many goals, Benzema often scores when Real Madrid need him most, the opening goal against Chelsea in the first leg of the quarter-finals is an example. With the captain's armband, the 2021 World Golden Ball always shows his admirable fighting spirit. He is also the one who gives instructions and finds the most effective attacking options for the "White Vultures".
Benzema often has ideal finishing positions due to his good mobility.
An interesting point before the match against Man City, Real Madrid's "number 9" had scored a total of 20 times against opponents playing in the foggy country. Benzema is also very lucky in the Champions League semi-finals, this striker has scored 8 goals after 16 appearances in this round. Even Haaland's Man City was once a victim of Benzema. The French striker himself scored 3 goals against Man City after 2 matches in the semi-finals of the C1 Cup last year.
These numbers are enough to make the blue half of Manchester especially wary of Benzema. If they neglect the French striker, coach Pep Guardiola's team will be punished by this striker like what happened a year ago.
With their current form, both Erling Haaland and Karim Benzema will be the two names expected to shine in the uncompromising confrontation between Real Madrid and Man City. FPT Play is the copyright holder of the UEFA Champions League for 3 consecutive seasons from 2021-2024 in Vietnam. Viewers can watch the match between Real Madrid and Man City at 2:00 a.m. on May 10 on the website fptplay.vn or the FPT Play application.
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