Benzema, Madrid’s antivirus

Karim Benzema is out of it. The French striker was the antivirus of a Madrid depleted by the coronavirus, but who left San Mamés endorsed in the leadership of LaLiga Santander. The French top scorer became the saving vaccine for Ancelotti’s men and made us forget the 11 casualties with which the merengue team arrived, 7 of them caused by Covid. Los Blancos, hand in hand with their ‘9’, ends 2021 in an excellent way, with 8 points over their immediate pursuer.

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Yesterday was a special night for Benzema. The Frenchman had not been able to celebrate his birthday beating Cádiz (0-0) and he wanted to claim for the umpteenth time this season. The ‘9’ long ago ended the debate on his theoretical lack of goal, since his records do not admit discussion: with his two goals against Athletic, the Frenchman already has 15 goals in the domestic championship, to which we must add another 5 in Champions. Karim is the top scorer for Madrid and also for LaLiga, and he showed it with his two punctures to the lions in a devastating start to the game.

Just 7 minutes had been played that Benzema had already seen the door twice. The first with an unappealable right hand, a goal worthy of being his 400 as a professional. The second holed against Aguirrezabala with a soft touch like Jon Rahm himself, present yesterday in the stands of San Mamés.

Benzema, cheered by San Mamés in his change, ends the year showing the world his most decisive version, but left his 300th goal for 2022 with the Real Madrid shirt. The Frenchman is one goal away from becoming a white gladiator and against Getafe on January 2 he will have his first opportunity to do so.