John Aldridge has compared Real Madrid talisman Karim Benzema to a "bottle of Rioja" who has got better with age ahead of the Champions League final against Liverpool.
France striker Benzema has scored a staggering 44 goals in 45 appearances for Los Blancos this season.
The Madrid captain is the leading scorer in the 2021-22 Champions League, finding the back of the net 15 times in 11 matches – including back-to-back hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea.
Benzema's penalty settled a pulsating semi-final second leg against Manchester City and the 34-year-old also helped himself to a brace in the first leg.
Former Liverpool striker Aldridge spoke of his admiration for the prolific Benzema ahead of Saturday's Champions League showdown at Stade de France.
He told Stats Perform: "I always thought that Benzema was a good player. But what he's done the last couple of years, and they've had the big players leave, he's become like a bottle of wine.
"He's matured very well. He's got better with age, which I did, because I was a late developer. I found the older I got, the more experience I got, the better I was.
"I played until I was nearly 40. He has a great football brain and all I can say is, he’s like a nice bottle of Rioja, red, that is. He's matured very, very well. And it's very expensive."
Aldridge stressed that the Reds must not allow 36-year-old midfield maestro Luka Modric to dictate the final in Paris.
"It's down the middle, we can hurt them in certain places," he said. "Vinicius [Junior] and Benzema, for me are our main threat.
"They have great players all over the pitch. In midfield, Modric, what a player, what a player he is, whatever age he is, I watched him against Man City, you let him run the show.
"And I've seen him run the show for Tottenham at Liverpool, one of the best appearances I've ever seen from an away player. Some years ago, we got beat, and he was unbelievable.
"So, you can't give him any room. You've got to watch the space in behind Trent [Alexander-Arnold], obviously where they'll capitalise with the pace of Vinicius.
"And Benzema, you can't give him any room in the box, they're the main threats. When you've got [Sadio] Mane, [Diogo] Jota, [Luis] Diaz and [Mohamed] Salah, they've got a little bit to think about as well."
Aldridge also hailed Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, who won the LaLiga title for the first time this season after leaving Everton for a second spell in the Spanish capital.
He said: "Apart from Everton? It's mad with Ancelotti, he went to Everton and walked away, and he got another crack at Madrid which to be quite honest, how that has happened is like, it's crazy isn't it?
"And he's been brilliant. You have to say he's very intelligent, he's a class act, he's been in these occasions quite a few times as we know. He has set the stall out, he's right up there with the best coaches and managers in the world. Absolutely."
PSG made to wait for Ligue 1 title after Monaco overcome Lille
PSG were forced to put their Ligue 1 title celebrations on ice after second-placed Monaco overcame Lille on Wednesday.
Luis Enrique's side swept aside Lorient 4-1 after doubles from Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe, putting the pressure on the chasing Monaco.
Yet Youssouf Fofana's third league goal of the season edged Adi Hutter's team to a 1-0 victory, delaying PSG's inevitable title success – barring a miraculous collapse.
PSG, who also have a two-legged Champions League semi-final with Borussia Dortmund to come in May, are 11 points clear with just four top-flight games remaining.
Having lost just once in Ligue 1 all season, PSG would secure back-to-back top-flight crowns if they overcome Le Havre on Saturday at Parc des Princes.
Though victory appears likely against relegation-threatened Le Havre, the Parisians would still be crowned champions without victory if Monaco fail to win on their visit to Lyon the following day.
Given the clash with Dortmund comes just four days after meeting Le Havre, Luis Enrique may rest the likes Bradley Barcola, Marquinhos, Achraf Hakimi, Vitinha and Warren Zaire-Emery, as he did against Lorient.
While the title remains in PSG's hands, Monaco at least took a step closer to Champions League qualification with victory over Lille, sitting 10 points clear of fifth-placed Nice.
Wolves 0-1 Bournemouth: Semenyo strike decisive as Cherries leapfrog hosts
Antoine Semenyo scored the only goal of the game as 10-man Bournemouth moved into the top half of the Premier League by beating Wolves 1-0.
Semenyo struck after 37 minutes to deservedly give the Cherries all three points at Molineux, where Wolves had two goals disallowed.
Hwang Hee-chan and Max Kilman thought they had scored equalisers, with the latter netting in the final moments of stoppage time, but Wolves' luck was out.
Milos Kerkez saw red for Bournemouth late on, but they held firm to inflict defeat on their former boss Gary O'Neil, whose Wolves team sit 12th.
Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa was forced into action twice as Bournemouth started well, pushing Semenyo's deflected effort wide before clawing away Marco Senesi's header from the resulting corner.
The hosts nearly gifted the Cherries an opener when Tommy Doyle lost possession inside his own half and Dominic Solanke was played in on goal, but Kilman came up with a vital intervention.
Wolves' first attempt on goal came when Ryan Christie was dispossessed inside his own half, but Mark Travers, making his maiden league start of the season, was able to tip behind Pablo Sarabia’s curling effort.
But the Cherries deservedly went ahead before half-time when Semenyo finished coolly following a free-flowing attacking move.
Bournemouth nearly doubled their lead inside the first 10 minutes of the second half when Justin Kluivert deflected Senesi's shot towards goal, forcing Sa into a smart reaction save.
Wolves thought they had an equaliser when Hwang headed home from Nelson Semedo's cross, but the goal was disallowed following a VAR review as Matheus Cunha was deemed to have committed a foul in the build-up.
Kerkez was sent off, with VAR confirming the onfield decision, for a rash lunge on Matt Doherty in the 79th minute, but Wolves were unable to make their numerical advantage count, with Kilman adjudged to have strayed marginally offside when he swept home at the death.
Toothless Wolves seeing their season fade out
Wolves boss O'Neil could not complete the league double against his former employers as his side's winless streak stretched to six league games.
Even with the returning quartet of Semedo, Sarabia, Mario Lemina and Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolves struggled to get going as an attacking force.
Sarabia passed up the chance to connect with Hwang's cross before Mario Lemina had a shot deflect over and Ait-Nouri curled an effort wide in their only show of attacking intent in the first half.
They may have had two goals disallowed, but it was all in all a rather toothless attacking display, and Wolves' European hopes have swiftly drifted away.
Cherries on course for record points tally
Bournemouth ended their three-match winless run, and it was ultimately an excellent first-half display that was crucial in getting the job done.
Even Kerkez's recklessness late on was not enough to put them off course, and they now need only two points from their remaining four Premier League fixtures to surpass their record tally of 46 set in the 2016-17 season.
Everton 2-0 Liverpool: Reds' title hopes dented as Toffees seal derby victory
Liverpool’s Premier League title hopes were dealt a potentially fatal blow as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat to city rivals Everton in an exhilarating Merseyside derby.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin's header made sure of the Toffees’ victory – their first in a derby at Goodison Park since 2010 – after Jarrad Branthwaite had poked them ahead.
Luis Diaz came closest to launching a Liverpool comeback, but struck the post, leaving Jurgen Klopp's side with just one win from their last four top-flight outings.
Defeat leaves the Reds three points behind league-leaders Arsenal with four games left, with third-place Manchester City yet to play, while Everton moved eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Everton dominated the early stages and thought they had the chance to take the lead from the spot after just six minutes. Alisson felled Calvert-Lewin in a one-on-one, but the striker was offside in the build-up, and the penalty was overturned after a VAR review.
The Toffees looked particularly dangerous from free-kicks, and Liverpool were given a warning when Calvert-Lewin’s thumping header was parried by Alisson.
Liverpool were left to rue their slack defending in the 26th minute as it pinballed around their box, with Branthwaite’s low shot eventually beating Alisson and spinning over the line off the inside of the post.
Jordan Pickford made three big saves to keep Everton in front at the break, denying Darwin Nunez, Diaz, and Andy Robertson as Liverpool rallied.
While the Reds made a bright start to the second half, they could not take their chances, and Calvert-Lewin punished them from a corner as he rose unmarked at the back post to thump a towering header into the bottom-left corner for his third goal in four games.
Liverpool’s best chance fell to Diaz in the 69th minute as he finally unlocked Everton’s defence, but a brilliant curler struck the right-hand post – the 22nd time Liverpool have hit the woodwork in the league this season.
Mohamed Salah also squandered a late chance, blazing over the bar from close range to sum up a wasteful night for the Reds as Everton held on for a potentially pivotal result at both ends of the table.
Dyche’s defence rallies
Each of Everton's last seven victories in the Premier League have been to nil, an impressive feat as they have failing to win any of their last 12 when conceding at least once (D4 L8).
They had to dig deep to get another vital three points in the relegation battle, keeping Liverpool at bay with impressive blocks from the brilliant Branthwaite, James Tarkowski and Ben Godfrey, as well as excellent saves from Pickford, who was on form to deny Harvey Elliott and Salah in the dying embers.
This win also ended a run of 12 without a victory against Liverpool in the Premier League at home, which was their longest such run against any other opponent in their league history.
Nine days ago, Everton were thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea. Now, after just their second derby win in over 13 years, they are within touching distance of safety.
Title hopes extinguished?
For the 22nd time in all competitions this season, Liverpool were punished for a slow start as they conceded the opening goal.
Jurgen Klopp, on his farewell tour, was aiming to become the first Reds manager to win 10 Premier League Merseyside derbies but instead suffered just his second loss against the Toffees (W9 D6).
It was just Liverpool’s second defeat in their last 27 games against Everton (W12 D13), and with Man City having two games in hand, it could have just ended their title challenge.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
