Karim Benzema offered Real Madrid teammate with opportunity to take decisive penalty in Champions League semi-final win over Manchester City: Reports

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema reportedly offered Rodrygo the chance to take the decisive penalty in their Champions League semi-final victory over Manchester City.

Los Blancos looked all but certain to exit the competition after Riyad Mahrez had put the Premier League leaders 1-0 up in the second leg on Wednesday, May 4. The aggregate score read 5-3 in favor of City with the tie heading towards injury time.

Real Madrid failed to have a shot on target within the 90 minutes, until Rodrygo scored twice in two minutes to send the tie into extra time.

Five minutes into the additional half hour, Benzema was tripped by Ruben Dias in the area to gift Real Madrid a penalty. He expertly dispatched it to claim his 43rd goal of the season and his 10th in the knockout stages of this season's European Cup.

El Golazo del Gol has since reported that the 34-year-old offered Rodrygo the spot-kick for a chance to seal his hat-trick. However, the Brazilian winger declined.

Benzema's record from the spot has been mixed in recent weeks. He scored a Paneka-style penalty in the first-leg at the Etihad Stadium against Ederson. However, he also missed twice in a La Liga clash against Osasuna before that.

The 21-old-old Rodrygo has been in excellent form as of late, having scored five goals in five games in all competitions. He was brought on as a second-half substitute in the match against Manchester City.

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Arsene Wenger claims weight loss behind Benzema's incredible Real Madrid form

The forward's penalty secured his team's progress to the final of Europe's premier club competition on 28 May against Liverpool. He also equalled Cristiano Ronaldo's record for the most goals in knockout games across a single Champions League season (10).

Former Arsenal boss Wenger claims Benzema's weight loss since he turned 30 has been a key part of the Frenchman's improvement. He told beIN SPORTS (via The Mail):

"Benzema, I would say, until 30, had two or three kilos too many. Now he's a real athlete and that's why today, certainly, he's one of the two or three best strikers in the world."

Wenger added:

"It is something interesting that we are seeing across Europe now: the oldest strikers are the most efficient. Robert Lewandowski, Benzema, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, they are scoring goals at 35 and at 40. The best strikers in Europe are all over 30 years of age. They use every opponent's mistake."