Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema was the best scorer in La Liga this season
By Ben Sundock
The Big Benz has been clutch for the last two seasons since Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid and he proved this year especially that age is just a number.
It’s going to be extremely difficult to put in to words just how impressive this campaign was for French striker Karim Benzema, but I will do my very best.
In his eleventh season with the club, Benzema won his third league title on Thursday night and did so in storybook fashion as he scored the two vital goals that saw Los Blancos reach the finish line with one match to spare.
The nearly 33-year-old talisman started his 35th league game and made his 36th appearance in matchday 37. Karim also scored goals 20 and 21 which brings him level with his mark from a season ago while making the same number of appearances and starts!
After starting and playing for just over an hour in the draw with Leganes, Benzema missed just one match all season. That was at home against Osasuna when Real Madrid won 2-0 way back in mid-September How is this even possible for a player, regardless of age, to do?
Not only is The Big Benz keeping his amazingly consistent form, he is not getting injured or asking for time off no matter the opponent. That has only helped to build the wonderful bond between he and his manager.
Now, I am certain there will be FC Barcelona fans and Lionel Messi fan boys who swarm to this article when they see the headline to defend Barca’s captain who secured the Golden Boot in Spain for the sixth time.
But, let’s take a moment to compare these two players who both registered over 20 goals this campaign.
The argument from Benzema supporters and Real Madrid fans throughout the spring is that Messi was not as clutch or did not rise to the occasion in big games quite like Karim. This Twitter thread does an amazing breaking down exactly what Madridistas have been saying.
As the stats show, Messi scored 80 percent of his goals against teams ranked in the bottom 10 (20 of his 25 goals) while Karim scored 10 of his 21 goals against the bottom 10.
The thread also shows that two of Messi’s five goals against top 10 competition came from open play. The other three came from the penalty spot or a free-kick.
Benzema, on the other hand, was crucial when Zidane’s side needed a goal to avoid defeat or find the win. The goal that comes to mind right away is the 96th minute goal against Valencia in the fall to salvage a much-needed point.
Circling back to Benzema being more of a clutch goalscorer than Messi this year, I direct your attention to the ‘points won with goals’ category. Messi had six game winning goals while Benzema had seven.
Next. Gareth Bale has damaged his enviable legacy. dark
There is no discrediting what Lionel Messi did this season with Barca. 25 goals and 21 assists is phenomenal regardless of the competition, but it seems fans and media pundits around the world are taking these stats completely out of context and are forgetting about Real Madrid’s number nine.
The deciding figure in this argument is the different in the league table between the side from the capital and the Catalans.
- Real Madrid – 87 points
- FC Barcelona – 82 points
Karim Benzema helped his side win the league in a hectic and incredibly unusual year while Messi did not. The better goalscorer won the league and that much is quite clear.