Zidane hails ‘great player’ Benzema after forward fires Madrid to UCL final

Real Madrid boss, Zinedine Zidane has heaped praises on Karim Benzema after the French forward fired the club to their third straight UEFA Champions League final on Tuesday night.

The Spanish giants are on course to win a third consecutive Champions League title after they qualified for final by defeating Bayern Munich 4-3 on aggregate in the semi-finals.

The Bundesliga side began what appeared as a possible comeback from a 2-1 defeat in the first leg when Joshua Kimmich scored in the third minute to put them ahead.

But Benzema leveled for Real eight minutes later, before capitalizing on a howler from goalkeeper Sven Ulreich to tap into an easy net for his second of the night.

Although Bayern drew level again with James Rodriguez’s strike and continued to push for a win late on at the Bernabeu, the hosts held on to seal their qualification for the final.

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“I’m pleased for him (Benzema). He wants to score and today he got two. He allowed us to get through, but he always works hard for us. Everyone is delighted for him,” UEFA’s website quotes the Coach as saying.

”Benzema showed tonight he’s a great player, he never gives up and I’m happy for him. I defend him like I defend all my players. They give us joy and satisfaction.”

The French manager also praised goalkeeper Keylor Navas for his good saves that saved Real from becoming victims of a comeback.

”Keylor stood up to be counted. It was a tough game, he gave us a lot with his saves, but also when he came for crosses. He saved our skin a few times.

“We’ve won nothing yet. We’re in the Final, that’s all. It’s not normal to get to three Finals in a row, but as we’re there we need to try and win it.

“We’ll do everything we can in order to defend our title. To get there is great.

“This club has great history. We’re writing more now, as the club has done over the years. Madrid never give up,” stated Zidane.

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