Cristiano's scoring stream at Real Madrid may never be surpassed in football history, but his influence is. Benzema is on it. There is a fact that offers a lot of light. This season Karim has scored 38.4 percent of the goals for the white team, 28 of the 73 goals for Zidane's team. Not even Cristiano ever took so much of the merengue scoring cake.
The closest the Portuguese star came to was in 2014-15, with Ancelotti at the helm, when he 'appropriated' 37.6 percent of Madrid's goals (in his last year, for example, he dropped to 30% of the total). Benzema is being more decisive now in this Madrid that, like that one, is also in the semifinals of the Champions League.
Besoccer
Karim saved the furniture from Chelsea's meteorological and football deluge during the first half hour in Valdebebas and Zidane asks the rest for more. “We need the others,” he insisted after 1-1 at the blues. It does not seem by chance that Madrid's last three draws, all at zero (Liverpool, Getafe and Betis), were the only ones where the Franco-Algerian forward did not see the door in the last two months of competition. If Karim doesn't score, Madrid punctures. It also happened on March 1 in the 1-1 against Real, which was lost due to injury.
Cristiano overwhelmed and while Benzema's 28 goals are by no means negligible by amount, they are being strategic especially in the League. And he has taken command. The last year of coexistence (2017-18) only contributed 19% of the goals, for 30% of the Portuguese. You are now making up for much of what you lost from the sale of the old seven. But the others, as Zidane says, cannot just stare.
Casemiro, top scorer
The bad year of the rest of Real Madrid's attackers is demonstrated by the fact that Casemiro is the second top scorer in the squad with six goals, the same as Vinicius and Asensio, two players who a priori should easily surpass the Brazilian in this facet every season. The next two on the scorers list are not forwards either: Ramos and Modric, both with four targets. A statistic that shows that right now Madrid is 'dry' when Benzema is missing …