Real Madrid: 5 burning questions from a 1-1 draw with Elche

Can Real Madrid deal with Karim Benzema being out of a game?

Let me clarify this question a little bit. Karim Benzema did play against Elche. He wasn’t necessarily bad, but he wasn’t involved in the game either. It was perhaps his least active performance in La Liga this season among all 14 of his starts.

Benzema, according to WhoScored.com, had one key pass and one shot. That’s it. Benz did not complete a single dribble but was dispossessed once, had three poor touches, and was whistled offsides once. He had one golden opportunity to head the ball in the six-yard box after a Luka Modric early cross, but Benzema could not even get his head to the ball. Modric’s exasperated reaction said it all.

Off the ball, Benzema was great. He made so many clearing runs for his teammates, including one when Marcelo hit the crossbar, and he had some great runs over the top of the defense that the midfielders simply missed.

Even so, Benzema wasn’t involved, he wasn’t effective on the ball, and Real Madrid suffered as a result. Real’s reliance on Benzema means that we rejoice whenever he finds the back of the net and the team wins, but some of us (not all, of course), scapegoat him when the opposite happens.

Benzema should not be the scapegoat. He is not at fault, because a striker cannot be elite in every single match. That pressure is unfair. But Real must figure out a way where they can still win games and score more than one goal when Benzema isn’t able to be the all-world superstar on that given day.