Three goals, in 17 minutes and a half had overthrown PSG in 8es of final. Three goals in 25 minutes, over two halves, grounded Chelsea on Wednesday night. Karim Benzema, the author of these two resounding hat-tricks, excelled in the Champions League. He scored all the goals for his team, Real Madrid, and some fine goals on occasion, combining precision, composure, opportunism, sense of position and collective play. Great art, which made Bruno Genesio say yesterday that he was “at the same level as a Johan Cruijff. » .
Credible candidate for the Ballon d’Or
For having rubbed shoulders with Benzema when he was still young in Lyon, the current coach of Stade Rennais finds that “The most telling thing about him, beyond his goals, is his game intelligence. Everything he does is fair: his movements, his technical choices… This indeed bursts the screen at each of his matches.
At 34, Karim Benzema seems stronger than he has ever been. Long in the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo at Real, of which he was the perfect lieutenant in attack, he has taken off since the departure of the Portuguese in 2018. Better, he has taken his place as a major asset for Real. Because he was able to observe him, see his daily investment to present himself match after match in top form.
This is how with age, Benzema improved, to reach the age of reason. Smiling as rarely before for a few months and his return to the France team, Karim Benzema, without false modesty, retains the high esteem he has always had for himself. But today, it corresponds to a reality.
READ ALSO. Karim Benzema, and now the Ballon d’Or?
To the point of having become a credible candidate for the Ballon d’Or, which he has dreamed of for years. Where Thierry Henry and Franck Ribéry failed to win the majority of votes, he seems able to succeed to succeed Kopa, Platini, Papin and Zidane. Provided that you do not forget on the way the essential virtues of collective play.
–
