Two Loris Karius mistakes gifted Real Madrid a pair of goals in the Champions League Final, and those proved to be the difference in the game. After a cagey first half in which Sergio Ramos took out Mo Salah, Karim Benzema took advantage of Karius' lapse in judgment and opened the scoring for Real Madrid.
Since its introduction in 1992 as a replacement for the European Cup, the UEFA Champions League has served as the world’s premier club tournament. The prestigious competition is where legends are born, and those legends don’t get any bigger than the players with the most career goals in Champions League history.
France announced the 23-man squad it will be taking to Russia in a few weeks and to the shock and awe of no one, Karim Benzema isn’t on manager Didier Deschamps’ list. Instead in the forward positions Deschamps has named Ousmane Dembele, Nabil Fekir, Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann, Thomas Lemar, Kylian Mbappé and Florian Thauvin.
Just eight minutes after Joshua Kimmich had given Bayern Munich a dream start at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid restored their aggregate lead (3-2) after a sweeping 28-pass move was finally finished off by Karim Benzema.
Every week The18's Giselle Cesín covers a topic about La Liga. This week we’re going over the 10 players who have disappointed the most tso far. Not the worst players. The most disappointing players. There is a difference. Please don't yell at us in the comments.
1. Cristiano Ronaldo
The misfiring Ronaldo is converting fewer chances than any goalscorer in Europe. But he just became a father again, so maybe that will give him a boost?
Real Madrid’s shocking 2-1 defeat to Girona yesterday marked the fourth occasion in which Los Blancos have failed to capture all three points this season, a worrying trend that’s seen Barcelona open an eight-point gap on their fiercest rivals after only 10 matches. Real’s attack has been uncharacteristically blunt this campaign, and Cristiano Ronaldo’s return of only one goal in 540 minutes of action has garnered the most attention.
Real Madrid and Karim Benzema have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with the striker now set to stay until 2021, past the Frenchman’s 33rd birthday.