The Frenchman, who missed a penalty on his return against Osasuna, has yet to find his best version in a Real Madrid penalized for his defensive fragility
He scored four goals and one assist in seven games, records that would be signed by the most strikers in the world but which, in the case of the next Ballon d’Or, are the reflection of an earthy Benzema, very far from that surpassing kick he offered last season and that was the main reason why Real Madrid reigned in the League and the Champions League. The Frenchman, who hadn’t been on the pitch for nearly a month, returned in vain in his team’s draw against Osasuna, the first blur for the whites in a hitherto flawless season that allowed Barça to take a surprise on the table and take the lead. should serve as a wake-up call to Carlo Ancelotti’s block, a lack of energy and determination in the first half, which was not enough this time with the final rush to take home the three points.
The barrage of attackers with which Ancelotti tried to break the resistance of a numerically inferior Osasuna after the 78th minute ouster of David García did not serve to unclog a fat Real Madrid that hated Modric’s absence because of an injury, paid the usual toll derived from national team breaks, especially in a languid midfield, past Kroos’ sweeping game changes, was again penalized for lack of defensive solidity and missed the traditional punch of his ship badge.
It wasn’t a bad game for Benzema, of course, especially considering he hadn’t worn shorts since September 6. He teamed up, moved well on the offensive front and had several chances to unlock the goal of Sergio Herrera, a real black beast of the Lyon number ‘9’, but he finally left the Santiago Bernabéu with a crooked nose after the missing a penalty, the third in a row against Miranda de Ebro’s goalkeeper, who could have served to preserve Real Madrid’s victory.
“We conceded a goal with a pass from the middle of the field and we conceded without any danger. We didn’t play at a very intense pace, but the game was under control and they deserved the win. With numerical superiority, we have placed centers, but they are comfortable there. There was no room for anything else. The game could have been solved with the penalty,” said Ancelotti, who admitted at a press conference that he was considering ordering another footballer to carry out the maximum penalty to prevent the ghosts of the recent past from infecting Benzema. but who hold him like a pitcher out of respect for his stripes.
The truth is that Benzema has not had good dynamics from eleven meters lately. The Bron striker has missed four of the last six penalties he has taken in the League as to the three missed against Sergio Herrera has been added the penalty he missed against then-Celtic Matías Dituro on matchday 30 of the 2021-22 championship . The Lyon man, who sent the first 16 he ran to the net wearing the Real Madrid shirt, had wasted only three in his career, all with the French team jersey. But so far this year he has already counted five fiascos from the point of penalty, a run that started on January 23 against Édgar Badía of Elche.
But apart from the missed penalty in a game that also saw a goal disallowed for a millimeter offside and another stroked with a fantastic shot for Vinicius that didn’t even touch the door, the first two months of the competition shine through. Benzema is not at his optimum point of confidence. Although he scored in the European Super Cup, put the win against Celta on the second day of the competition and scored a double against Espanyol on the third date of the championship that allowed Real Madrid to attack Cornellà at the buzzer, he is not being that spire sowed total devastation in his wake. Despite this, in the ‘white house’ they are confident that the number ‘9’ will soon regain the edge and are confident that Wednesday’s game against Shakhtar in the Champions League will help him get sensational again.
That clash will also be another opportunity for Real Madrid to work on their defensive armor. The whites have not added a single zero in the first seven days of the League, a fact that is in stark contrast to the six Barca have amassed and also not in line with the good performance in that section of Ancelotti’s team in their first two rounds of the Champions League, where Courtois, now in dry dock, left his frame flawless against Celtic and Leipzig.
Source: La Verdad
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