Despite his goal tally being good, the Frenchman is still not at full capacity
Karim Benzema is still not at his level. If he were any other footballer, you could even say he’s in a good moment, but given the kind of player he is, it’s clear the Frenchman is still far from full capacity.
It has always been said with great wisdom that Benzema was much more than a striker. And it was always said in his favour. Now he is more forward than ever, but less of a player: he scores goals but does not feel connected to the team. The real Madrid clearly lacks his clairvoyance near the areathose from which Vinicius, Valverde and Rodrygo could feed.
Benzema has eleven goals in thirteen league matches and 18 goals in 24 games this season. These are really good numbers given the ratio of goals per game played, but it is also somewhat concerning. Worryingly, he has lost 14 of 38 matches played so far, beyond the sensations it offers on the field. This Saturday, against Atlético, the time had come a shadow of the player who terrorized Europe last season and that eventually became the Ballon d’Or.
“Today was a difficult game for him. He lacked a bit of mental freshness and arrived a bit faster in the last third. He was a bit bothered by this. After the World Cup he scored a lot of goals, especially important goals.” That’s what Ancelotti said after the game. An intelligent man who knows it’s easy to focus on the numbers when it’s not that what’s really wrong but everything else :lfor reliability and freshness.
Benzema has always looked after himself and has always been a footballer who didn’t need to dose himself to perform at Real Madrid. It’s clear that the injuries he suffered during the season have physically weakened him and prevented him from being 100%. Recently, he rested against Osasuna, claiming exactly that he should “rest”. Something very strange and unusual.
Real Madrid have a very complicated LaLiga and it looks like they are going to focus on winning the Copa del Rey and the Champions League. The team has shown throughout the year that it is capable of playing important games without Benzema or with a Benzema at medium throttle, but if it wants to compete and offer its best version, they undoubtedly need it. But they need the best Benzema.
Source: Goal