The Frenchman scored his first free-kick goal since 2008 and his first for Real Madrid to round out the 3-1 win against Espanyol
2022 is ‘The Year of the Cat’. Karim Benzema he was proclaimed champion of the Champions League, of the League and top scorer in both competitions. now the french he has broken a curse that had become obsessed with his longevity over time. After adding 327 goals in competition with Real Madrid, Karim scored the first free-kick with the white shirt.
Benzema did not score from a direct free kick in an official match -counting the club and national team matches- for more than 14 years. Wearing the Olympique de Lyon shirt, the forward achieved it against Saint-Étienne in Ligue 1 on January 27, 2008.
The most curious thing of all is that he achieved that goal in the 92nd minute and the last one against Espanyol was in the 98th minute. Karim Benzema only has these two free-kick goals in his professional record being a footballer who has not lavished himself excessively on this fate with Cristiano Ronaldo almost always being the author of the free-kicks in Madrid.
Benzemait’s true, he took advantage of the fact that he did not have a professional goalkeeper in front of him, but there was the Espanyol central Leandro Cabrera after the goalkeeper’s expulsion. Karim adjusted it to the goalkeeper’s post with power, making it possible for Real Madrid to have already scored two free-kick goals in the first three league games.
To see such effective data from set pieces, you have to go back to 2011 when Santi Cazorla made two fouls in the first three games with Málaga of that season. In this case, Benzema and Alaba have scored for the whites, who achieved it against Almería.
Vinicius and Tchouaméni impress
Vinicius Junior he made another splash and became the Brazilian player who has scored the most goals in the five major leagues with 19 goals in 38 games since last season. Only Neymar equals the mark and in 26 games, although in the less competitive Ligue 1.
Also, Aurélien Tchouaméni continued to give reasons for forget The French midfielder, in addition to having become lord and master of the spinal cord, got his first assist in his third game with Real Madrid in the League. Casemiro did not achieve any in his last 18 league games with the white team.
Real Madrid signs an impeccable start with three wins in three games and will be played against Betis -the only team that has a similar balance- the leadership in a duel that will measure them at the Santiago Bernabéu. The whites have scored nine goals in this start, being by far the team that scores the most.