What should Real Madrid do with Karim Benzema?
At 32, Karim Benzema has continued to show how vital he is to the Real Madrid squad. Whether it was Zinedine Zidane, Julen Lopetegui, Santiago Solari, Carlo Ancelotti or Jose Mourinho, they have all been able to see what the French striker brings to the table.
However, after a fiery start to the 2019/2020 campaign, Benzema’s form seems to have dropped, yet he continues to be named in the starting lineup every week. Is Zidane going about this the correct way?
Benz currently sits as the second-highest goalscorer in this La Liga campaign with 13. The only player above him is Lionel Messi who has 18 while Luis Suarez and Lucas Perez are directly below him with 11 goals each.
In theory, the numbers are good but when looking at them into a little more detail, things begin to get worrying.
The last goal that Benzema scored came in the 1-0 win against Atletico Madrid on February 1. Since then, he has taken part in six matches without delivering a goal in any of them. This automatically brings up the argument about the Frenchman not being a ‘traditional’ striker, which is a fair point.
Benzema’s best ability comes in the link-up play that he brings to the table. He has never been a clinical finisher like Suarez, for example. However, since that match against Atletico, Benz has one assist to his name which came in the 4-1 win against Osasuna on February 9. With almost a month since then, the question has to arise on what the club should do with Karim Benzema.
Option 1: Play Benz!
Very simply put, this is what has been happening and the forward isn’t delivering. Judging by his past, it’s only a matter of time before he starts scoring again and he’s always able to come out with magical moments when the team need him most – such as the goal in the 1-0 Madrid Derby victory.
At the same time, the team is suffering from the lack of goals. It’s not that Benzema is expected to score all of our goals, rather he is still expected to score.
Vinicius Junior, Gareth Bale, Lucas Vazquez, and Rodrygo Goes are all unable to get constant time in the lineup and when they do play, they aren’t getting on the score sheet regularly.
Adding Benzema to that list simply shows exactly what has been happening: The team isn’t scoring often and it has become a concern.
Option 2: Bench Benz!
Once you bench Benzema, the question almost automatically becomes: Can Luka Jovic take care of business?
Jovic has had a difficult season so far and needs more playing time. Is he better than Benzema overall? Of course not, but he brings something to the table that Benzema doesn’t: Clinical finishing.
The Serbian striker proved himself time and time again at Eintracht Frankfurt while he has shown that he has what it takes to succeed at Real Madrid. He just needs time and if Benzema isn’t able to get the job done, give Jovic a chance.
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He won’t bench the Frenchman for long but long enough to add more rivalry between the two.
After El Clasico, another question pops up though and that is whether or not Mariano Diaz has a chance.
In my opinion, even with the fact that he has scored in the Clasico only a couple minutes into his La Liga debut this season, Zidane doesn’t and won’t count on him. Therefore, the starting position is between Karim Benzema and Luka Jovic.
Option 3: Accompany Benz!
Maybe what Benzema needs is someone to be upfront with him during some of the matches. Whether or not Zidane is counting on Mariano, the fact is Los Blancos have three strikers in their squad and it would be foolish not to use them when required.
Zidane has attempted the 4-4-2 in the past with Benzema and Jovic both upfront. The reason why we aren’t seeing it very often is simply because it didn’t work. Having the two strikers would also mean that Mariano would have a place on the bench but more often than not, the best choice would always be to bring in a midfielder for one of them when the time comes to make a substitution in order to add more control.
The 4-4-2 hasn’t worked so far, but Real Madrid has the right players to make it work if required. However, it won’t be as effective as we would hope. The team is built with this formation and certain strategies in mind. The 4-4-2 would be a great backup to have, but to put both strikers on the pitch regularly simply doesn’t look like a good idea.
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Final Verdict?
There is no “right way” to deal with this type of problem. Every single solution has its own set of pros and cons.
Having said that, I think that giving chances to players is always a must and this seems like a good time to let Jovic take the driver’s seat for some time. It sends a dangerous message when Zidane doesn’t let the bench players have their chances even though the person starting isn’t performing well.
When all is said and done, Karim Benzema is the best option, but at the moment he may not be. Showing him that his place is guaranteed regardless of performance is never a good thing.
Add some competition and we could watch both players flourish during the business end of the campaign.