After thirteen years at Real Madrid, Karim Benzema finally has the platform to show what he can do.
Casual observers could be forgiven for thinking that Karim Benzema became a tier 2 player in Madrid. With Cristiano Ronaldo the talisman for years, Karim Benzema deferred to the Portugues’ game.
Since Ronaldo’s departure, Benzema has been able to make that seemingly evergreen Real Madrid team his own.
Benzema scored a hat-trick at the Bernabeu to knock PSG out of the Champions League. In the quarter final first leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, he repeated the trick.
Read: Liverpool and City Win In Europe Ahead Of Vital Premier League Clash
The 34-year-old has now scored 11 goals in this season’s Champions League. Only Robert Lewandowski has scored more, with 12. Benzema has now scored four hat-tricks for Real Madrid In Europe.
Only Alfredo di Stefano (five), Ferenc Puskas (five) and Ronaldo (seven) have managed more. Benzema has scored those 11 Champions League goals in 8 games, and has a total of 37 in 36 in all games for Madrid this season.
His ability to assume different mantles in the team shows just what a good player he is. For years, he was a foil for the galacticos – Ronaldo, Bale, di Maria. Now, he is the leader of a younger attack, helping young Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr to thrive.
Read: Premier League Top 4 Race Too Close To Call
His form as he enters the twilight of his career is emblematic of this iteration of Real Madrid itself. For all intents and purposes, this is one of the more fallow periods of the club’s history.
However, with Benzema, Kroos, Modric et al, they could well win the Champions League again this year. If they do, Benzema will have earned the birthright of every world-class Real Madrid attacker: being the one who inspired them to do it.
