With another great performance by Karim Benzema, Real Madrid on Thursday secured a comfortable 3-1 win in their visit to Girona to reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals for the first time in five years.
Real advanced 7-3 on aggregate having won the first leg 4-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
Benzema continued his scoring form by finding the net twice in the first half.
The Frenchman has five goals in his past three matches, with one of the goals coming in the match against Girona in Madrid. He on Sunday also scored twice in their 4-2 La Liga win over RCD Espanyol.
Benzema on Thursday reached 209 career goals with Real Madrid, surpassing Hugo Sanchez for sixth place all-time in the club’s list of scoring leaders.
Benzema had been among the players targeted by some Madrid fans as the team struggled not long ago, but his recent performances have quieted the critics.
“I feel bad for those who only found out about Benzema last week, but there is still time to enjoy him,” coach Santiago Solari said. “There’s no doubt that he is going through a great phase.”
Benzema scored his first goal in the 27th minute with a left-foot shot from inside the area after a pass by Dani Carvajal, then added his second in the 43rd with a curling low shot from close range after being set up by Vinicius Jr.
Girona pulled one back through Pedro Porro in the 71st, but midfielder Marcos Llorente sealed Madrid’s victory with a shot from outside the area five minutes later.
Real have been eliminated in the Copa quarter-finals the past two seasons. The last time they had made it to the semi-finals was in 2014, when they won their 19th title.
“We hadn’t made it to this stage in a few years, so we have to enjoy this,” goalkeeper Keylor Navas said.
Girona, in their third season in the first division, were playing in the Copa quarter-finals for the first time. The Catalan club have lost four games in row in all competitions and have not won in 11 straight matches.
With the comfortable win, Solari was able to rest some of his players, with Benzema among those replaced in the second half.
The draw for the semi-finals was to be held yesterday.
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