The Real Champs
Fansided

Real Madrid: Dear Karim Benzema, please start scoring

By Ben Sundock

GIRONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 29: Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF react after Cristian 'Portu' of Girona FC scored his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Girona and Real Madrid at Estadi de Montilivi on October 29, 2017 in Girona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
GIRONA, SPAIN - OCTOBER 29: Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo of Real Madrid CF react after Cristian 'Portu' of Girona FC scored his team's second goal during the La Liga match between Girona and Real Madrid at Estadi de Montilivi on October 29, 2017 in Girona, Spain. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit

Real Madrid has struggled to score at the same rate as they did last season and it is causing serious problems. One of the biggest reasons this drastic dropoff has occurred is because of Karim Benzema’s lack of output.

I thought Benzema’s individual highlights from the draw against Valencia in August would be fitting to include in this article.

Plain and simple, this guy is not the precise finisher he once was. After I thought he had a sharp drop in production last year after a phenomenal 2015/2016 season, it has actually gotten worse. And right now, things aren’t changing.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I am not the biggest Karim Benzema fan.

I was an advocate for Alvaro Morata to stay with Madrid and for president Florentino Perez and Zinedine Zidane to part ways with the aging and declining Benzema.

Of course, my wish did not come true and instead, we as Real Madrid fans are left watching as Morata has scored 6 goals in 8 league starts for his new club, Chelsea. Benzema, on the other hand, has scored just 1 goal in 6 league starts, playing just over 400 minutes.

To say I am frustrated or fed up with Karim’s inability to finish in front of goal would be an understatement. I don’t think there is a word strong enough to describe my frustration.

While writing for The Real Champs and closely following everything Real Madrid for the last year and a half, I have constantly heard Benzema fans defend the striker by lauding his hold-up play, the consistent linking with Cristiano Ronaldo up front, and his passing awareness.

More from The Real Champs

I can’t disagree with any of these claims. However, my reply to these claims made by Benzema fanboys is always the same: “Karim is a striker, so isn’t his primary job to score?”

I sure think it is, but so, so many others seem to disagree.

Taking a closer look at Benzema’s stats from the first three or so months of the season shows that both points of view are correct.

The Big Benz has passed the ball at an impressive rate, completing 82.5% of his 137 attempts. And yes, he gets plenty of touches a game and makes plenty of passes during the course of the game (22.8 per) but his shooting and finishing has taken an astounding dip.

Through 405 minutes, 6 starts, and 1 substitution appearance in La Liga, the striker that is Karim Benzema has taken a total of 16 shots. That’s an average of 2.7 shots per game which ranks fourth on the team.

How can this be?

Karim is averaging fewer shots per game than Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, and Marco Asensio.

Furthermore, of those 16 shots, 15 have come from inside the box with 2 coming inside the six-yard box! Yet, the former French international has scored just one goal all year.

The only goal from Karim came in the 2-1 win over Getafe in mid-October, but when will the shots start going in for the starting striker? Or, will they ever start going in?

Taking a look at the Squawka stat comparison matrix shows just how much Karim’s goal output has dropped off.

CR7 has struggled to finish in front of goal as well, but at the end of the day, Ronaldo is going to hit his stride and starting pouring it on.

Karim, on the other hand, I’m unsure of.

It’s clear from looking closely at the stats that his best season with Real Madrid came in 2015/2016 where he scored 24 goals in La Liga. This year, if he is to play the same number of matches as last year (29), and the same amount of minutes, he is likely to score less than 11 goals.

The problem Zizou faces as manager and that Real Madrid as a whole face is that there is not a lot of depth at the position to make a change. This team will ride or die based on the success of Karim Benzema in front of goal and right now, they’re quickly dying.

Next: Real Madrid injury update: Isco in the squad to face Spurs; Varane, Navas, and Bale out

Stay tuned to The Real Champs for more analysis!

Home/Analysis