A confident Karim Benzema has vowed to see Real Madrid in the Champions League final, despite falling to Manchester City in the first leg of their semi-final tie on Tuesday (April 26).

Benzema scored a brace that helped bring Real Madrid back from two goals behind at the Etihad Stadium to finish the match 4-3 and alive with a chance when they head home to the Santiago Bernabeau for the second leg.

“I warn our fans to be ready to see something magical, we will win the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu,” Benzema told Movistar Plus.

“Losing is never good and we care a lot about winning the Champions League this season. The thing is we never lowered our guard and kept fighting until the end.”

Benzema steered home an expert finish in the first half and coolly chipped a penalty kick down the middle in the final minutes of the game, despite missing twice from the spot at Osasuna last week.

“I am a very confident man,” Benzema said with a smile.

“This is the highest level and we were playing against a great team and at their stadium. We fell 2-0 down but were mentally strong to fight back.”

Early in the match, Kevin De Bruyne scored a header inside two minutes to hand City a dream start before Gabriel Jesus slotted home shortly after to extend their lead in the 11th.

Benzema scored in the 33rd-minute to make it 2-1, but, after the half-time break, Phil Foden put Man City back up by two in the 53rd.

Just two minutes later, Real striker Vinicius raced down the flank and scored to bring the deficit back down to one.

NEVERENDING THRILLS

As the thrills continued, Bernardo Silva fired in a terrific 74th-minute strike from just inside the box to increase the gap once again in City’s favour.

But a handball from defender Aymeric Laporte handed Benzema a penalty in the 82nd that he cheekily dinked in over Man City keeper Edersen.

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti never doubted his captain would score, but was critical of the mistakes his team made.

“We have to defend better,” Ancelotti said.

“It was not a good result because they scored four goals against us, this is never good. It means we didn’t defend well and we need to do a better job in the second leg. I believe it will be the key.”

The Italian also feels home advantage will prove crucial in the return leg.

“We are very confident and excited because we believe in the magic of Bernabeu,” he said.

Real’s confidence is running high after they reached the semi-finals with wins over Paris St Germain and holders Chelsea and Ancelotti said he was proud of how his team had been able to generate chances and hurt City at their own ground.

Vinicius Jr, who scored a magnificent individual goal, said Madrid’s fans would need to get behind them for the return encounter “like never before”.