Benzema fades away again

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema hasn't scored since 2 April against Alavés. His fine performance against Eibar appears to be nothing more than a mirage
Real Madrid-Gremio: Club World Cup final 2017

Update: Apr 30th, 2017 05:00 EDT

Javier LizónEFE

The mediocre performances of Karim Benzema and the goal-scoring appearances of Morata are firing the debate about who should start up front for Real Madrid. While Zidane is sticking firm to his idea of an untouchable BBC, provided they are fit (something that's proving tough with Bale), among the fans the idea is growing that Madrid should start with the academy player up front, not the Frenchman. A survey in this paper showed that the fans would far prefer Morata up front, with three times the number of votes as Benzema.

Morata takes Benzema's place against ValenciaDANI SANCHEZDIARIO AS

Benzema poor in Real Madrid v Valencia

Benzema once again had a poor performance against Valencia, compared to what we know he's capable of. It was Cristiano Ronaldo who scored a centre-forward style goal against Voro's side, just as he did against Bayern Munich where he notched five goals all worthy of an out and out number 9.

April to forget for Benzema

Benzema meanwhile has had an April to forget in front of goal, scoring just once, against Alavés on 2 April. Everything looked good for Benzema at the start of March when he put in a fine performance against Eibar, with Bale and Ronaldo missing, but since then he's faded away again, with Morata putting the pressure on. Against Valencia, Benzema barely trod in Diego Alves area, as his heat map shows.

And Benzema managed just four efforts: two chances, one a header, were feeble attempts that didn't bother the keeper, one shot hit the outside of the post and another went wide.

Benzema v Morata: statistics

So far in this LaLiga campaign, Benzema has played in 26 matches, scoring nine goals and setting up four. Morata, his direct rival, has played in 23 games, with better returns: 13 goals and four assists. Looking at all games, Morata is ahead of Benzema too. 19 goals for the Spaniard compared to 17 for the Frenchman. And in terms of minutes played, things look even better for Morata. Benzema has played 2,815 minutes, notching every 166 minutes. Morata has played 1,731, with a goal every 96.

Benzema fades away again