Real Madrid star Karim Benzema is at the peak of his powers at 34
His best EVER goal return, back-to-back Champions League trebles and pundits clamouring to give him the Ballon d’Or… Karim Benzema is at the peak of his powers at 34 and the main man for post-Ronaldo Real Madrid as they chase a 14th European crown
- Karim Benzema scored a stunning hat-trick as Real Madrid won 3-1 at Chelsea
- His manager Carlo Ancelotti said 34-year-old was maturing like a fine wine
- Pundits and ex-players alike hailed France striker after Wednesday’s heroics
- Benzema has 37 goals this season for Real – the highest return in his career
- Rio Ferdinand said Benzema should win the Ballon d’Or for world’s best player
- He has emerged from the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Bernabeu to thrive
Carlo Ancelotti compared him to the maturing of a fine wine, Iker Casillas described him as both ‘Spiderman’ and ‘Wolverine’, while Rio Ferdinand suggested the Ballon d’Or will soon have his name engraved on it.
Certain other players may beg to differ on that last point but there’s no question Karim Benzema is in the form of his life at the age of 34.
His masterclass for Real Madrid against Chelsea on Wednesday night was that of an already brilliant footballer profiting from accumulated knowhow and experience at the highest level.
Karim Benzema scored a stunning hat-trick as Real Madrid won 3-1 at Chelsea on Wednesday
The France striker, 34, was in unstoppable form as Real took command of the quarter-final tie
Benzema could be on for a fifth Champions League win as Real chase their 14th title overall
Benzema’s clever movement for the two headed goals that put the Spanish side in command of the quarter-final was evidence of that, likewise the pressing that forced Edouard Mendy into his mistake just after half-time.
Nothing ventured, nothing gained could be the Frenchman’s mantra and everything paid off spectacularly at Stamford Bridge.
Benzema scored a treble against PSG in the last-16 and repeated the feat against Chelsea
Those three goals made it back-to-back Champions League hat-tricks after he slayed Paris Saint-Germain in the last round. Benzema has scored 13 goals in his last seven matches and 37 for the season, his best-ever return.
The numbers certainly suggest Benzema is at the peak of his powers at an age when most players would be winding down.
Winning the Ballon d’Or – he’s never even made the top three – would be a worthy reward but there will be stiff competition from the likes of Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe, with the World Cup likely to swing votes.
At least Benzema will be at the tournament. The lost years with France following the Mathieu Valbuena sex tape blackmail scandal are a real shame but he has scored nine times since returning to the fold ahead of Euro 2020.
‘Benzema is 34 and he is the best No 9 in the world,’ said Ferdinand on BT Sport. ‘He is another level. Goals, assists, link-up play.
‘When Cristiano Ronaldo was there Benzema had the humility to sit in the background because he knew what it meant to the team but now he has come out of the shadows.’
Rio Ferdinand described how Benzema has stepped out of Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow at Real
French newspaper L’Equipe hinted pretty strongly that Benzema deserves the Ballon d’Or
Benzema at Real
WITH RONALDO
2009-10 33 games, 9 goals
2010-11 48 games, 26 goals
2011-12 52 games, 32 goals
2012-13 50 games, 20 goals
2013-14 52 games, 24 goals
2014-15 46 games, 22 goals
2015-16 36 games, 28 goals
2016-17 48 games, 19 goals
2017-18 47 games, 12 goals
POST-RONALDO
2018-19 53 games, 30 goals
2019-20 48 games, 27 goals
2020-21 46 games, 30 goals
2021-22 36 games, 37 goals
TOTAL 595 games, 316 goals
There’s certainly some truth to that. While Benzema’s goal returns when Ronaldo was at Real Madrid were hardly terrible – a high of 32 goals in 2011-12 and typically over 20 – they are more consistently high since Ronaldo left in 2018.
The last three seasons have seen him score 30, 27 and 30 before reaching fresh heights this time around. It’s surely inevitable he’s now pass 40 this season, win another LaLiga title and potentially a fifth Champions League.
One contributing factor is that Benzema assumed penalty-taking responsibilities for Real once Ronaldo left – he’s put away nine this season and missed two – but that shouldn’t detract from his enduring class.
‘Karim Benzema is getting better every day; just like a fine wine,’ Ancelotti said of his captain.
‘He’s more of a leader every day, he feels more and more important in this team and this squad. And I think that’s what makes the difference.
‘He has so much more personality, he knows he’s a very important player for us and he’s an example for everyone.’
Marcelo’s injury issues have seen vice-captain Benzema take the armband for much of the season and he’s thrived on the responsibility of leading the team.
They certainly missed him when a calf injury meant he missed the 4-0 Clasico defeat to Barcelona last month. Ancelotti was forced to start without a recognised striker and the half-time arrival of Mariano Diaz changed little.
Perhaps a little bit of Ronaldo has rubbed off when it comes to the exhaustive lengths Benzema now goes to keep himself in tip-top condition.
In 2019, Spanish media outlet El Chiringuito tracked down Benzema’s personal chef, Alberto Mastromatteo, who’d helped the striker shed eight kilos by that point.
The secret was a low sugar diet full of steamed vegetables, baked fish and oriental dishes, plus slightly more left-field things such as microalgae supplements such as Spirulina, which is a very concentrated vegetable protein.
Carlo Ancelotti will be relying on Benzema to take Real to another Champions League triumph
The chef also had a machine which makes his cooking water more alkaline, which sounds very much like the kind of marginal gain Ronaldo would dig.
A year later, El Chiringuito investigated Benzema’s fitness regime and discovered he uses a wetsuit-style device called I-Motion EMS.
It gets sprayed with water and built-in electrodes give out small electric discharges which stimulate the important muscles needed for exercise.
Maybe all this gives Benzema an extra edge at an age when his powers should be declining.
There remains a sense that Benzema has been under-rated by the football public at large for a long time and only now is that being corrected.
Having powered Real halfway to the Champions League semi-finals – the return leg is on Tuesday – Benzema will be absolutely crucial if they stand any chance of beating Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the likely semi-final.
Benzema has also returned to the France team after so many years of being frozen out
In the meantime, they will soon wrap up another Spanish league title, sitting 12 points clear of Barcelona at the top as they currently do.
Keep scoring and keep winning, especially when the World Cup comes round, and Benzema may well achieve that Ballon d’Or.
Final word goes to his former Real team-mate Casillas, who tweeted: ‘K9 is Spiderman. K9 is Wolverine. K9 is that building doorman. K9 is your best friend. K9 is your grandmother. K9 is the president of the United States. K9 is the instructor you do your parachute jump with. K9 is your guardian angel. K9 is God!’
Praise indeed and plenty will be shouting: ‘Amen to that!’
Benzema’s former Real team-mate Iker Casillas was effusive in his praise of the striker
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