Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema firing on all cylinders

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema looks like his old self as he tears up La Liga in the first few weeks. The Real Champs takes a look at his performances thus far.

Can Karim Benzema fill the goal void left by Cristiano Ronaldo?

Karim Benzema is coming off one of his worst goal-scoring seasons in his entire career last year and still walked away with a third consecutive Champions League trophy. With the loss of their manager Zidane and the iconic number seven Cristiano Ronaldo, the world of football thought Real Madrid had lost the dominance they held for the last few years. Karim Benzema has other plans…

After a season of only 12 goals in 47 appearances it seemed like Real Madrid were going to need to splash some serious cash to fill in for the 50 goals Ronaldo was good for every season, but with no replacements in sight they trust the roster, the system, and the big names they have to step up. Karim Benzema seems to be one of the ringleaders in this new Madrid team when it comes to scoring goals as he is just one goal shy of his league tally from last year and the season is only three games in. After being given the role of assistant captain, the departure of Ronaldo, the rumours of new signings, and being snubbed once again from the French national team Karim Benzema could feel all the pressure. The pressure from the fans, the club, the media, watching his French compatriots go on to win a World Cup without him, but like they say under great pressure diamonds are made.

After the first three games, you no longer hear cries for Cristiano Ronaldo as Gareth Bale and Benzema arrowhead the new Madrid attack under Lopetegui. Karim’s four goals in three games have Madrid fans rejoicing as they sit on top of the table equal on points with archrivals Barcelona. It is still very early in the season but to come out this hot after only scoring 5 goals total in the league last year, it can only make Real Madrid fans more optimistic and even more hungry for silverware. Karim Benzema has taken his leadership role and gone even further than just putting goals away. He has taken a couple of the younger guys under his wing and been in the gym with them after training, during training you see them running with him, he is working to push them to get to the next level and in the end, help Real Madrid to become a stronger unit.

Watching him in the training rooms of Madrid while the World Cup was still going on was impressive and can only bring joy to the eyes of Madrid fans. This seems like a year where it is make or break for Benzema at Madrid, and he is grabbing it by the horns. If Karim continues to score at the pace he is scoring he will have over 40 goals just in the league compared to last years 12 goals in all competitions. If the goals keep coming I am sure we will see a lot less crying over a certain Portuguese star and more cries of Benzema’s place on the French national team.

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