Benzema OVERTAKES Cristiano Ronaldo in this stunning Champions League stat

Real Madrid remain on course to win their fourteenth UEFA Champions League (UCL) after earning a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in the semi-final first leg at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. But Los Blancos did it the hard way having conceded the first goal as it took an extraordinary Karim Benzema strike for Madrid to come on level terms. With that goal, Karim Benzema overtakes Cristiano Ronaldo in this stunning UCL stat. Here is a look at the Benzema Champions League record and a review at the Real Madrid vs Chelsea highlights.

Real Madrid vs Chelsea highlights: Karim Benzema scores stunning goal to equalize after Christian Pulisic's opener

Chelsea continued their impressive performances under Thomas Tuchel as The Blues dominated Real Madrid for most of the match. Tuchel's side began the match on the front foot as they forced Thibaut Courtois to make an epic save before Christian Pulisic opened the scoring shortly after. With Madrid in all sorts of trouble, Karim Benzema rose to the occasion as he has so often done since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Frenchman scored a stunning acrobatic goal to level the scores.

Despite Benzema's equalizer, The Blues have the edge heading into the second leg because of that vital away goal. However, one can never disregard Zinedine Zidane and Real Madrid who are proven winners in the competition. Zidane led Los Blancos to three consecutive Champions League victories from 2015/16 to 2017/18 seasons.

Karim Benzema Champions League record

Even though Karim Benzema has an unbelievable goal-scoring record and continues to fire on all cylinders for Real Madrid, he never gets the credit he deserves. Benzema became the joint fourth-highest scorer in the Champions League with the great Raul after netting his 71st goal in the competition on Tuesday. The striker now only trails Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Robert Lewandowski.

Benzema was in the shadows of Cristiano Ronaldo during the Portuguese international's time at the Bernabeu, but this remarkable comparison with Ronaldo shows that the Frenchman can do it on his own. Ronaldo left Madrid in 2018 to join Juventus but has failed to reach the heights he enjoyed in Spain. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has just managed 14 goals over the last three seasons in the Champions League while Benzema has scored 15 over that same period. With Juventus out of the competition, Benzema has an excellent opportunity to continue his stellar run of goals.