REAL MADRID
Real Madrid's Benzema: "This club is my whole life"
Karim Benzema spoke after marking his 200th league goal for Real Madrid in the 6-1 win against Mallorca, revealing which one remains his favorite.
With his brace in the 6-1 win against Mallorca on Wednesday, Karim Benzema reached his 200th league goal for Real Madrid. In honor of this milestone, Madrid president Florentino Peréz presented the French striker with a commemorative shirt after the game, with the win putting Los Blancos two points clear of Atlético Madrid at the top of the table after six games played.
"This club is my whole life," Benzema told Real Madrid TV. "Hopefully I can score many more," he added. Asked what LaLiga goal has been the most special for him, the Frenchman responded: “I would still say the first, a pass from Van Nistelrooy at the Bernabéu.”
That first-ever goal he referred to came in the 4-0 win over Xerez in September, 2009. It was the final goal of the game, coming in the 82nd minute, with the French striker firing a rocket into the near top corner from 12 yards after collecting a simple pass from Van Nistelrooy.
Benzema still going strong
Twelve years on since that first goal and Benzema is enjoying his best-ever start to a season at Real Madrid. In the opening six league games, he has provided eight goals and seven assists, translating to a goal participation rate of 2.5 goals per game, numbers that put him in position as the best striker in the world at the moment.
Right now, the only unknown regarding Benzema is how much gas he has in the tank to maintain this incredible run of form, given that so far he has started all seven games (six in LaLiga and one in the Champions League), to which we must add games with the French national team. Until his return to the French team this summer after a six-year exile, for the past several seasons, the Lyon-born forward used the international break periods to rest.
Ancelotti: Benzema is “the complete package”
“Clearly, at the moment Karim is doing very well,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after the Mallorca game.
“Focusing on the fact that he has scored eight goals can make us forget that he is playing very well for the team, assisting… He doesn’t just score, he is the complete package.
“When he is tired we will put Jovic in, who is doing very well. It is a difficult competition for Jovic, but what little he plays, he is doing very well. When Karim needs rest, he will play.”
With a total of 287 goals, Karim Benzema is the club’s fifth leading goalscorer of all time, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (450 goals), Raúl (323), Alfredo Di Stéfano (308), and Santillana (290). He looks likely to surpass Santillana in October and at the rate the Frenchman is scoring, he may even overtake Di Stéfano before the end of the season.