The current Ballon d’Or holder scored both goals in Real Madrid’s 2-0 victory over Real Valladolid, proving he is ready for the second half of the LaLiga Santander season.
After a stuttering campaign that has been interrupted by four separate injuries, Karim Benzema returned to action on Friday in Real Madrid’s first LaLiga Santander match since the World Cup, and he sure left his mark. The Frenchman scored both goals as the reigning champions left a gruelling match at Real Valladolid with a 2-0 victory, handing his side three vital points in their bid to retain the title.
The striker did not make the best start to the game, firing over the bar in the first half from close range. But, he soon found his feet and grew much sharper as the game went on.
When Real Madrid was awarded a penalty in the final 10 minutes, he stroked the ball into the bottom corner with aplomb to break the deadlock. The No.9 then sealed the victory by controlling a pass from Eduardo Camavinga before smashing the ball beyond Jordi Masip.
Benzema’s relief at scoring again was palpable after such bad luck with injuries lately and he celebrated by pointing to the Real Madrid badge on his shirt.
As well as helping his side move level on points with FC Barcelona in Matchday 15, Benzema fired out a warning shot to his rivals for the Pichichi award by climbing his way back up the league’s scoring charts, moving on to seven goals.
The striker romped to this scoring award with 27 strikes last season, but this year he has had to contend with numerous fitness issues.
He started the 2022/23 season where he had left off the last campaign by contributing three goals and an assist in the first four league games of the season, but then injured his knee half an hour into a Champions League match at Celtic.
He was forced onto the sidelines for over a month and his return to action was disrupted by a knock against Shakhtar Donetsk, which led to him missing the match against Getafe CF.
Although Benzema then scored in back-to-back games against FC Barcelona and Elche CF, he then injured his hamstring and missed two more weeks. His return for the home match against Celtic was another false dawn, as he missed another fortnight with a fresh hamstring injury.
Then came the most painful setback of all, as yet another injury while training with France in Qatar forced him to miss the World Cup.
Optimism for the second half of Benzema’s season
Despite having suffered all those injury setbacks in the first half of the season, Carlo Ancelotti is certain that the current Ballon d’Or holder will be back to his best for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign.
“I see him as being motivated and confident and I think that in the next stage of the season, we’ll see a different kind of Benzema,” said the coach.
Los Merengues have coped admirably without their talisman, with the likes of Vinícius, Rodrygo and Fede Valverde all stepping up, but now his return will further lift the mood in what is set to be a nail-biting title race with FC Barcelona.
The race for the Pichichi is equally intriguing. Benzema is joint-fifth at the moment with seven goals, but just one strike behind second place. If he can stay injury free from now on, he could even challenge Barça striker Robert Lewandowski, who is currently on 13 goals, for the top spot.
If Benzema’s career has taught us anything, it is that we should never write him off.
