The second Benzema League

420 days later Karim Benzema returns to the Benito Villamarín stadium. There, on January 13, 2019, the little finger of his right hand fractured just before the break (minute 44). However, that was not an obstacle for the French striker to continue playing for the remainder of the season. Not in vain participated in 23 more matches, getting 18 points, including a hat-trick (Athletic Bilbao) and four doublets (Espanyol, Girona, Valladolid and Eibar). It is not a bad figure for an attacker who has since played with a bandaged finger, as if it were an omen of good luck.

And it is just now when there are 12 games left for the end of the season when the second Benzema League starts. Last season he managed to score 10 goals in his last ten league games (He did not play on Day 35 against Rayo (1-0 defeat), nor on the next (victory against Villarreal, 3-2)), when everything was already decided. And it is that Karim, who began as a shot until becoming a pichichi of the championship (ten goals accumulated before traveling to Vitoria to measure himself to Alavés), barely three goals in his last 13 appearances in the league. Yes, it is true that two of those goals served for whites to score four points: one in the draw against Valencia (he scored in the 95th minute) and the loner so much that he decided the derby against Atlético de Madrid. Since then, Messi has overtaken him in the scoring table and now exceeds him in five goals (18).

Curiously, that good streak he achieved last year was with Zidane's return to the white bench. The French coach does not deny his compatriot and trust him for this final sprint in search of the conquest of the League. A Championship that would be the second that appeared in his record, and the third in this second decade of the 21st century for whites. Before Betis, this second Benzema League begins. The Championship awaits …