Real Madrid: The pros and cons of playing Karim Benzema and Luka Jovic together
In my previous article on The Real Champs, I wrote about three Real Madrid players who deserve more minutes under Carlo Ancelotti with one of them being Luka Jovic. In today’s write-up, I will discuss why Carlo Ancelotti must consider playing Jovic and Karim Benzema together while also analysing the pros and cons of this potential partnership.
`Real Madrid have undergone a slump in form in their last three fixtures- a draw to Villarreal and two successive losses against Sheriff in the UEFA Champions League and RCD Espanyol in La Liga. In the past three fixtures, Real Madrid have only scored three goals while conceding four in the process.
Fingers have been pointed at Carlo Ancelotti due to the frequent changes in the starting eleven and formations each game. While this slump in form is not going to last forever, a club of Los Blancos’ stature has to bounce back immediately and Ancelotti is well aware of the fact.
Against Sheriff and Espanyol, Real Madrid looked slightly better when Luka Jovic came on mainly because Karim Benzema got more freedom to operate since the opposition defence were busy marking Jovic. We got close to scoring the equaliser against Sheriff and even scored the only goal against Espanyol after Jovic’s introduction.
MORE FREEDOM FOR BENZEMA TO OPERATE AND MORE CHANCES FOR JOVIC
We’ve seen Luka Jovic and Karim Benzema start twice together last season under Zinedine Zidane. The first time they started together was against Real Betis in La Liga but it was quite clear that both the strikers lacked chemistry and it just did not work out. In the following fixture, Zidane once again opted for a Benzema- Jovic partnership and it was exciting to watch.
This season we’ve been seeing the two pair up late in the game whenever Ancelotti sub’s in Jovic. The Serbian’s introduction immediately gives Karim Benzema more freedom to operate making him far more lethal as he’s simply more than just a goal-scorer.
I mean look at Benzema’s goal against Espanyol that was ruled offside. Luka Jovic came on and kept the backline busy, Benzema dropped deep and started a one-two pass sequence before the ball was laid off by Jovic and Benzema rounded off the keeper to roll it into an empty net. It was a pity that it was offside but we once again witnessed how Benzema gets more space to play with Luka upfront.
Against Valencia, for example, Benzema looked more lethal when Jovic was introduced and eventually scored the winner through a towering header due to the space created in the box as the defenders were busy marking the Serbian.
It’s no secret that Karim Benzema is currently in the form of his life and he can take his goal-scoring numbers to the next level if he plays alongside Luka Jovic more often this season. Likewise, Benzema’s playmaking skills are second to none and a few of his slick passes could end up being golden opportunities for Luka Jovic to get amongst the goals.