Real Madrid: The 5 best players from the first quarter of the 2020-21 season

CF Karim Benzema

It’s easy to get critical of Karim Benzema, because sometimes his finishing comes and goes. He had a slump in front of goal earlier this year, for example, and Real found it difficult to score in general. And he had some issues with finishing to start the season in 2020-2021, as well.

However, once Benzema found the back of the net very late to seal the game against Levante at the Estadio de la Ceramica, he has been back in form. Benzema has been especially good when Eden Hazard is with him in the lineup, which comes as no surprise. The connection between Hazard and Benzema last October and November gave Madridistas great hope for the attack in 2019-2020.

Benzema is the team’s leader this season with four goals in La Liga, including a brace in the 4-1 win over Huesca. And once again, he’s the team’s leader in assists with three. He also leads the team with two goals in the Champions League.

Real Madrid rely so much on Benzema to keep the attack going, so when he does struggle, he becomes a target for criticism despite his legendary status and production outside of those brief slumps. I guess it’s the curse of being so important, but it definitely isn’t fair to him.

Hopefully, Hazard can remain healthy in 2020-2021, because we really get to see Benzema at his best when he is working alongside a player with Hazard’s quality and experience. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes are talented but still figuring out their styles at the top level, while Marco Asensio isn’t cutting it right now.