Real Madrid have not made a great return to action after the World Cup break. A sluggish performance against Real Valladolid was followed by a 1-0 win against lower league Cacereno. But things caught up to them against Villarreal, as they lost by a 2-1 scoreline. And their display against Valencia in the Spanish Super Cup semi-final was nothing to write home about either, as it finished 1-1 over 120 minutes before Los Blancos went through on penalties.
One man who has found the back of the net four times over the space of that time is Karim Benzema. Yet, his performances have not been great and three of those goals have come from the spot. From open play, Real Madrid have managed to score just twice.
Let’s see if their form improves moving forward or not, as they prepare to face Barcelona in the final of the Spanish Super Cup this weekend. A lot will depend on Benzema.
The Frenchman has had a tough season till now, dealing with one fitness issue after another. One such injury suffered while training with the French national team ahead of the World Cup resulted in him having to pull out of the tournament altogether. At that time, it had looked a straightforward matter but there has been a lot of controversy surrounding it since then.
Real Madrid superstar refuses to discuss World Cup controversy
As reported by ESPN, Benzema said when asked about France:
"“What happened, happened.“The important thing for me is tomorrow’s game. I’m ready. I feel good in mind and body… The rest is in the past. It was difficult, but that’s it.”"
There have been suggestions that Benzema could have stayed on and been fit in time to take part in the World Cup. We also saw him announce his international retirement after the conclusion of the tournament, as France fell just short of repeating as champions, losing the final at the hands of Argentina on penalties.
It is good to see that Benzema has put the matter behind him though and is only concentrating on the rest of the season with Real Madrid.