Karim Benzema is in the best moment of his sports career. At 33, the Frenchman has completed a stellar start to his course: ten goals and seven assists in ten official matches for Madrid. Right now he is the fittest center forward in Europe. A performance that his team takes advantage of, but that does not give to win games if his teammates do not accompany him. And, for now, none of the other Madrid attacking players has had continuity. All have shone at some point, albeit without regularity.
The one who has helped Benzema the most at the moment is Vinicius, but the Brazilian has turned off in recent weeks: dfter a hopeful start to the season (five goals), he has now gone four games in a row without seeing a goal. He has left good performances, although in today's Madrid all the attackers are also required to score goals.
The one who has helped little is Hazard. And the problem is that it begins to be nothing new, because he plays less and less. Against Espanyol he made a good goal that would have recharged his confidence, but it was annulled by the VAR. When he was signed, the Belgian was expected to contribute a figure close to 20 goals per season, something that begins to be considered impossible.
As if all this were not enough, injuries have also played an important role. Against Espanyol, Ancelotti lost Asensio, who recently starred in his hat-trick against Mallorca. The Balearic, with Carletto, He is more of a midfielder than a forward but his ease in scoring and assisting is a great help for Benzema. Bale is also in the infirmary, who started as a starter and scored a goal against Levante.
Benzema lacks partners and also substitutes, because the two natural spare parts he has on the squad do not fuel. One of them, Mariano, is not expected. He's still on the squad because he's been refusing to leave for years, but it doesn't count. The other, Jovic, has the confidence of Ancelotti, who gives him more and more minutes. Against Espanyol he gave Benzema the goal pass (although the play is the Frenchman's merit) and he needs to see the door for the first time this season to gain confidence.
Finally, the case of Rodrygo is curious. The Brazilian has an amazing facility to see goal every time the Champions League anthem sounds (he scored against Inter) but in the league it costs him a world. So far he has produced very good performances this season, although the team also needs his scoring contribution.
Madrid, for the moment, survives thanks to Benzema. But it is a no-brainer that French cannot maintain this level throughout the course. Worse moments will come, physical discomforts … And there, Ancelotti needs his partners to start showing their heads or the team will have an even bigger problem.