Karim Benzema has come to Real Madrid’s rescue

French striker has earned praise and provided the support needed with Ronaldo suspended, Andy Mitten reports.

Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema knows how to score goals, but has also assisted eight more, which ranks third in the league. Dani Pozo / AFP

Sixteen of the 17 goals Karim Benzema has scored for Real Madrid this season have been one-touch, first-time finishes, where he has not needed to take control of the ball.

He scores with his head and both feet, usually burying a cross with clinical accuracy.

It is this clean, predatory instinct that has made the French striker, 27, a favourite of club president Florentino Perez.

Benzema has been a success since his €35 million (Dh145.9m) move from Lyon almost six years ago.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who joined in the same close season, has been Madrid’s biggest star, but Benzema has been his perfect foil, his finishing similar to legendary forward Hugo Sanchez.

With Ronaldo excluded from Saturday’s game against Real Sociedad, Benzema scored twice in a 4-1 win against the Basque side who had defeated them this season.

His second, a curling shot from the edge of the area, was his pick of the season.

A one-two with Isco set it up and showed that Benzema is far more than a lone-wolf goal poacher in the manner of Ruud van Nistelrooy.

Isco appeared overcome with the quality of Benzema’s finish and put his head in his hands. Others were happy to praise.

“He’s got a lot of technical quality,” said Madrid’s assistant coach Paul Clement. “Everything was demonstrated in that second goal. Unstoppable. Fantastic goal.”

“Benzema put in a fantastic performance,” his coach Carlo Ancelotti said.

“The second goal he scored was top quality. He has a fantastic strike, but we also have to appreciate the way he helps the team’s play.

“He isn’t just a striker who plays in the box, he is very good in every area and has a lot of quality.”

With Ronaldo suspended for another game, Benzema is the most important player for the best team in the world.

Gareth Bale has not fully won over a sceptical Bernabeu crowd, but, while it took time, Benzema has.

Though some Madrid fans questioned the wisdom of him going skydiving on a December trip to Dubai with his team, Benzema has matured and is at ease living in the Spanish capital, with compatriot Zinedine Zidane an influence.

He is also hugely popular in the dressing room because, while he scores, he sees his goals as the culmination of a team effort.

After Saturday’s second strike, he said: “Of course, I’m happy with the goal, but I’m happier with the win.”

Benzema took time to settle in Spain and he was portrayed as moody and surly, but he is now a father who is at ease with the media and himself.

He even allowed himself to be pictured wearing something called an electro-stimulation jacket, which made front-page news and was credited with helping him score goals.

Benzema’s wider contribution is critical. He has set up eight league goals this season, the third best in the top flight and the same as Barcelona’s ­Neymar.

Only Lionel Messi and Ronaldo have assisted more.

Madrid remain top of the league with a game in hand over Barcelona, who sit a point below and Atletico Madrid, who are four points behind.

The Madrid giants meet in Saturday’s derby at the Vicente Calderon, and Real want to avoid their recent trend of falling behind in matches for it will be harder to come back against the champions than the Basques, especially without their Portuguese talisman, but in Benzema they have a matchwinner.

He will face more formidable foes than Real Sociedad this season, but as he showed with his favourite goal against holders Bayern Munich in the Uefa Champions League semi-final last season, he can be clinical against the best.

That is why Benzema is the foremost French striker of his generation.

Primera Liga Player of the Week

Aritz Aduriz, Athletic Bilbao: The veteran striker, 33, scored twice in Bilbao's vital 2-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Levante. He is in his third spell at the club and his goals lifted Athletic above Real Sociedad, from Aduriz's hometown of San Sebastian. The goals also put him joint top in the race for the Zarra trophy awarded to the top scoring Spaniard in the Primera Liga. Along with Valencia's Dani Parejo, Espanyol's Sergio Garcia and Rayo's Alberto Bueno, Aduriz has seven goals.

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