Karim Benzema continues to pulverize records in the history of Real Madrid. That beardless French forward who landed in 2009 in the white team has had to live a total transformation to become a real ‘killer’ con the Real’s shield attached to the chest. Goal by goal, assist after assist, he has become a man who at times seemed to take over the design of a misunderstood genius. His figure remained on a tightrope regarding his future at Real Madrid and he was always an easy target for criticism. The beard, the arrival of Zidane and his new role ended up completely molding the white ‘9’.
The semi-Chilean art of Benzema step by step
Benzema left the old black legend that his profile was that of a striker with little goal. And if last season already rhe broke all the schemes to end up scoring 44 goals (Ballon d’Or included), in this 2022/23 season he has already been 22 despite the various injuries he has suffered and that it has cost him, more than usual, to find his ideal point. However, the Frenchman returned to the best version of him when saw up close the train that transports Real Madrid to the most decisive stage of the season. With the Copa del Rey Clásico just around the corner and the Champions League tie against Chelsea knocking on the white door, the ‘9’ put on the superhero suit to sign a feat only available to a select few. A historic hat-trick… twice.
Double record of a misunderstood genius
After scoring 3 more goals in the league game against Valladolid (6-0) at the Santiago Bernabéu, the Frenchman has increased his career as a white goalscorer. Karim signed the third fastest hat-trick achieved by a white player in the entire history of LaLiga after getting on the podium with a fastest lap that only lasted 6 minutes and 30 seconds. Pahino to Nástic in 1950, which needed a whopping 4 minutes, and Fernando Hierro against Espanyol in 1992, in six minutes, they needed less time to sign the feat in a league game.
In addition, the three goals signed by the French ‘9’ served to beat two Real Madrid legends. Karim Benzema entered the white Olympus after beating Alfredo Di Stéfano and Raúl González to become the first player in the history of Real Madrid to surpass 20 goals during 11 consecutive seasons. Genius and figure to the grave. His numbers in previous seasons with Real Madrid are:9 (2009/10), 26 (2010/11), 32 (2011/12), 20 (2012/13), 24 (2013/14), 22 (2014/15), 28 (2015/16), 19 (2016/17), 12 (2017/18), 30 (2018/19), 27 (2019/20), 30 (2020/21) y 44 (2021/22).
“We work to have mobility and rupture in the opposing defense. Karim scored three goals in seven minutes and showed very good condition. The work he did during the break helped him a lot“, wanted to highlight Carlo Ancelotti in the press conference after the game against Valladolid. And that last point is one of the keys to understanding Karim’s spectacular performance in Madrid’s most important stage. And Tourmalet target in the month of April that has started with a win… and with the ‘recovery’ of the best version of the French 9. An extra job that always brings reward.
The French striker is the Second all-time top scorer for Real Madrid after overcoming, among others, Di Stéfano, Puskas, Santillana and Raúl. And it is that his numbers speak for themselves since he began his metamorphosis since his arrival in Spain in 2009. Benzema has scored 345 goals in 14 seasons, distributed as follows: League (233), Champions (77), Copa del Rey (22), Club World Cup (4), Spanish Super Cup (7) and European Super Cup (2).
