Real Madrid’s number nine, Karim Benzema, is arguably enjoying his best season ever.
Currently on 44 goals in the 44 matches he has played, he leads the La Liga Pichichi race by seven from his teammate Vinicius Junior, but that only tells half the story of the leading creative force at Real Madrid.
Against Levante, he scored a back post header in his side’s 6-0 victory, before laying on an assist for Vinicius. That was his 323rd goal for Real Madrid, which marks another milestone in his incredible season.
It takes him level with Raul Gonzalez and into the joint-second position in the goalscoring charts for Los Blancos. Only Cristiano Ronaldo lies ahead of him in that list, with 451 goals, as pointed out by Marca.
Perhaps just as remarkable as levelling Raul’s number is that Benzema has managed to do it in 141 fewer games than the Spaniard.
Yet for all the statistics and records Benzema is creating, it can’t quite communicate his value on the pitch. Real Madrid are an entirely different proposition with him there and right now there are few, if any, playing better football than him.
