Karim Benzema continued with his business of carrying Real Madrid on his shoulders on Sunday, April 17, 2022, when he helped his team to overturn a 2-goal deficit in a La Liga game against Sevilla.
Real Madrid were on duty on Sunday night away at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium against a resilient Sevilla side. Ivan Rakitić gave the hosts the lead in the 21st minute. Four minutes later, Sevilla doubled their lead thanks to Érik Lamela’s 25th-minute strike.
Real Madrid went into the second half losing 2-0. Hence, coach Carlo Ancelotti and his boys were expected to come up with a formula to change the scoreline.
It was not until in the 50th minute that Rodrygo was able to pull one back and gave Madrid the inspiration to fight for an equalizer. In the 80th minute, Nacho broke the hearts of Sevilla’s fans at the stadium by scoring the equalizer.
When it was looking like the worst Sevilla would get from the game was a draw, Karim Benzema stepped up to score the winner in the additional two minutes, thanks to an assist from Rodrygo.
𝐈𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐊𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐦 𝐁𝐞𝐧𝐳𝐞𝐦𝐚! 👑
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) April 17, 2022
Real Madrid defeat Sevilla having trailed 2-0 after 25 minutes. Is that the #LaLiga title secured for Los Blancos? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/l0wQLGlJ8h
The win has further cemented Real Madrid’s place at the top of the Spanish La Liga table with 75 points in 32 games, and 15 points above second-placed FC Barcelona which have two games in hand.
So far in the 2021-2022 season, Benzema has stepped up his game incredibly even though he is currently 34-year-old. The Frenchman’s form has been so incredible this season that Ancelotti described him as a fine wine that gets better with age.
Though Karim Benzema has had some outstanding moments this season, two of the moments that Real Madrid fans might never forget were his three goals against Paris Saint Germain in the round of 16 stage of the Champions League, and his four goals against Chelsea in the quarter-final stage of the Champions League.
Recall that in the round of 16 stage of the Champions League, PSG defeated Real Madrid 1-0 in the first leg in Paris. When the French side came to Madrid for the second leg of the tie, Karim Benzema scored three goals to help Real Madrid beat PSG 3-1.
The second leg win helped Real Madrid to knock out PSG from the Champions League campaign 3-2 on aggregate.
In the quarter-final stage of the Competition, Benzema scored a hat-trick in the first leg against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge to help his team win the Premier League club 3-1 away from home.
When Chelsea visited Madrid, the 34-year-old striker scored one of the goals in Chelsea’s 3-2 victory. At the end of the 2-legged affairs, the Spanish La Liga giants were able to knock out Chelsea 5-4 on aggregate.
As it stands, if Karim Benzema could continue like this and help Real Madrid win the Spanish La Liga title and this season’s UEFA Champions League title, he would be a major contender for the 2022 Ballon d’Or.
What are the stats of Karim Benzema and his contract status at Real Madrid
Karim Benzema has been a Real Madrid player since he joined the club from Olympique Lyon on July 9, 2009, for a transfer fee worth €35 million. Since then, the Frenchman has scored 318 goals and provided 157 assists in 598 games in all competitions.
So far this season, Benzema has scored 39 goals and provided 13 assists in 39 games in all Competitions.
Based on the contract extension the 34-year-old France international signed with Real Madrid in 2021, the Frenchman reportedly earns £275,000 per week as a Madrid player. The contract will expire on June 30, 2023.
It might interest you to note that Karim Benzema has been married to Cora Gauthier since 2016. The marriage is blessed with a son named Ibrahim Benzema. The Frenchman has a daughter named Melia from his previous relationship.
