Michael Owen has claimed Karim Benzema's first goal in France's Euro 2020 tie against Switzerland displayed a first touch superior to that of Dennis Bergkamp when the Dutchman scored his most famous goal for Arsenal against Newcastle in 2002.
Benzema's brace was not enough to keep Les Bleus in the competition, as a late Swiss comeback saw the tie enter extra time despite France boasting a two-goal cushion with less than ten minutes to play.
France were originally forced to overturn a 1-0 deficit, which they did in remarkable fashion, Benzema notching two goals within two minutes of each other.
However, it was the first one that got people talking, the Real Madrid latching on to an under-hit pass from Kylian Mbappe that was behind his running stride, before a divine piece of improvisation saw Benzema control the ball via sticking his trailing leg out behind him and guiding the ball back into his path.
The touch worked perfectly, with Benzema swiftly converting the chance he had effectively made for himself to spark France's ill-fated comeback.
In the immediate aftermath of the strike, former England and fellow 'Madridista' Owen took to social media to heap praise on the goal, writing: "I’m putting it out there. That Benzema touch was better than Bergkamp’s v Newcastle all those years ago."
Despite Benzema's brilliance, France were dumped out of the tournament in dramatic fashion after two late Swiss strikes took the tie to penalties after a relatively uneventful period of extra-time.
Which goal was better; Bergkamp or Benzema? Have your say in the comments below
After all five Switzerland players found the net from 12 yards, it was PSG talisman Mbappe who missed the decisive spot-kick to leave the chance for silverware wide open to a number of other nations.
Following the game, France manager Didier Deschamps publicly backed the striker, explaining: "Kylian Mbappe is incredibly sad, as are all the players, but nobody can be upset with him as he took on the responsibility of taking the fifth penalty.
"When you take the responsibility, it can happen. He is obviously very affected by it."
