Author of 323rd goal in the jersey of Real Madrid during the card against Levante (6-0), the Frenchman has entered a little more into the legend of the club merengue.
Karim Benzema continues to write his great story with Real Madrid. On Thursday night, Real’s number 9 equaled legend Raul as the club’s second highest goalscorer in history with 323. It was on a headed goal, a new favorite exercise, that the former Lyonnais scored his 323rd goal with the White House during the Madrid trip against Levante (6-0) at the end of the Matchday 36 of La Liga on Thursday at the Santiago-Bernabéu.
The French centre-forward headed off a Vinicius cross from the left side, and widened the gap for Real, who were already leading 1-0 after compatriot Ferland Mendy opened the scoring six minutes more early (13th). The French international, who arrived in Madrid in 2009, is however still far from the best scorer in the history of the “White House”, the unattainable Cristiano Ronaldo (451 goals), now at Manchester United.
During 2021-2022, Benzema overtook legends Carlos Santillana (290 goals) and Alfredo di Stéfano (308 goals) before joining Raul. The native of Bron, in the suburbs of Lyon, was long criticized for his lack of goals at Real Madrid but he has now won the hearts of “Madridist” supporters.
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Towards a first title of “Pichichi”
The first goal of “KB9” at Real dates back to September 29, 2009, during the 3rd day of La Liga against Jerez, when the Frenchman had just landed in the Spanish capital from Olympique Lyonnais. This season, Benzema has 44 goals and 14 assists in 44 appearances in all competitions, far ahead of Vinicius’ 18 goals and Marco Asensio’s 12, Real’s other two top scorers this season behind him.
The current top scorer and assistor in La Liga (27 goals and 11 assists in 31 matches) is in the running to win his first “Pichichi” trophy in Spain, after the one won in 2007-2008 in Ligue 1 with Lyon (with twenty goals in L1 and 31 in all competitions that season). His best total in La Liga previously dated from the 2015-2016 season, during which the Frenchman reached the 24-goal mark. Above all, “KB9” is more than ever in the race to win the Ballon d’Or, the supreme individual award, at the start of the school year.
