Unstoppable Benzema blows away Ronaldo & Messi
Robin Bairner
- 23 Sept 2021 09:01 BST
- 6 min read
Real Madrid may have missed out on Kylian Mbappe in the summer, but in Karim Benzema they have one of Europe’s most in-form attackers.
Benzema has made a remarkable start to La Liga – posting more goals and assists at this point of the season than any player in the 21st century in Spain, including Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
The Frenchman’s incredible start to the season continued on Wednesday as he bagged two goals and an assist in a 6-1 win over Real Mallorca at home.
Marco Asensio might have caught the headlines thanks to his hat-trick, but it has been Benzema that has driven Los Blancos to the top of the Primera Division.
15 - @realmadriden's Karim @Benzema 🇫🇷 has been directly involved in 15 goals in @LaLigaEN 2021/22 (eight goals and seven assists), the best start in goal involvement of any player after the first six league games of the campaign in the 21st century. Extraordinary. pic.twitter.com/kj8evO0U8Q
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 22, 2021
Through six games of the season, Benzema has scored eight goals and has set up seven more.
He has played virtually every minute of the season so far for Real Madrid and has been involved in a staggering 71% of their goals. Indeed, Benzema has averaged a goal involvement once every 35.3 minutes he is on the field.
Europe-leading statistics
Benzema is blowing away his counterparts, not just in Spain, but all over Europe.
Cristiano Ronaldo has played three league matches this season – two for Man Utd and one for Juventus – and has just three goals to his credit.
Lionel Messi, meanwhile, has yet to make a telling contribution for Paris Saint-Germain.
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Even Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski, who has made a typically rapid start to the season in the Bundesliga is in Benzema’s wake. The Poland star has seven goals in five games but does not have a single assist.
Erling Haaland comes closest to Benzema, with the Norway international posting seven goals and four assists for Borussia Dortmund. This is still only a goal involvement every 40.9 minutes.
Leading the way in the Premier League is West Ham’s Michail Antonio, with four goals and three assists – a contribution every 50.1 minutes.
Benzema Ballon d’Or?
His performances have been so strong that the Spanish press has started to seriously campaign for him to win the Ballon d’Or.
For all of Benzema’s goals, though, his side have come up short in their quest for titles. Earlier in 2021, of course, he helped Real Madrid to second in La Liga and the semi-finals of the Champions League.
With France at Euro 2020, Benzema’s personal form was impressive but Les Bleus were surprisingly dumped out of the competition by Switzerland in the last 16.
