Benzema wins Champions League Player of the Season
FT Desk
- Updated: 10 Aug 2022 23:54 BST
- 3 min read
Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has been rewarded for his Champions League heroics with the award for the competition's Player of the Year in 2021-22.
The Frenchman was in scintillating form throughout the competition, smashing 15 goals to outscore the likes of Robert Lewandowski, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and clinch the Golden Boot.
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That haul included two crucial hat-tricks to see Madrid past Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the last 16 and quarter-final stages, and a total of 10 knockout strikes as the Merengue took the crown, their 14th overall.
He was therefore an obvious choice for Player of the Year, which was awarded in Helsinki's Olympic Stadium on Wednesday ahead of the UEFA Super Cup against Europa League holders Eintracht Frankfurt.
Back to business
Madrid then picked up largely where they had left off in the previous season in their first competitive outing of 2022-23 - with another title.
Goals from Casemiro and, of course, Benzema gave them a straightforward victory over Frankfurt to mark their third trophy of the year so far, after running out champions of Spain and Europe earlier in 2022.
Wednesday's starting line-up was identical to that which overcame Liverpool in the Champions League final back in June, with new signings Antonio Rudiger and Aurelien Tchouameni sitting on the bench.
Both men saw action late in the game, coming in for Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos respectively to share in the latest Madrid title celebrations.
'Look at all our forwards!'
Speaking after the final whistle, president Florentino Perez dismissed the need to add depth up front to the Madrid squad behind Benzema.
"Look at all the forwards we have, [Benzema] isn't going to slow down but if he does we have so many forwards we won't notice," Perez fired.
"The Ballon d'Or? The way I see it he already deserved it last year, and this year even more so."
