Karim Benzema equaled a Cristiano Ronaldo’s record at Real Madrid as his seven-minute hat-trick helped Los Blancos to defest Real Valladolid 6-0.
The former French international who is still behind Cristiano Ronaldo in total goals, equaled Ronaldo’s 112 goals scored under Carlo Ancelotti.
He also became the first player to score 20 or more goals in 11 different seasons for Real Madrid.
Benzeam achieved this 112 goals in 174 matches under Ancelotti while it took Cristiano Ronaldo just 101 games to achieve same 112 goals under the same manager between 2013 and 2015.
Benzema doubled Real’s advantage after Rodrygo broke the deadlock on 21 minutes into the first half of the match.
Benzema, immediately took charge at Santiago Bernabeu, scoring a first-half hattrick for Real Madrid for the first time in his career.
The hattrick put Benzema second on the list of top scorers in the Spanish La Liga with 14 goals, just 3 goals away from Barca’s Robert Lewandowski.
The first goal came from a Vinicius Jr cross which Benzema scored with a flying header. The second goal was easy as the Frenchman scored from the edge of the box from Vinicius’s pass.
He completed his hattrick from Rodrygo’s cross. Though the ball was behind him, he however adjusted to score the third.
Rodrygo added another assist in the second half after he and Asensio did a one-two pass before Asensio scored the fifth.
Eden Hazard also gave his first assist since 2021 as he found Lucas Vazquez who scored the last goal sending Valladolid down the relegation zone.
But the day was all about Benzema, who is now level with Ronaldo for goals scored under Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti with the pair both scoring 112 times under the Italian’s manager.
After the game, Ancelotti said: “Benzema’s match must be highlighted. This shows that he did a great job during the break.”
The overall record goalscorer under coach Ancelotti, is still former AC Milan striker Filippo Inzaghi, who has 161 goals to his name.
Real Madrid are currently second in LaLiga table, 12 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona.
Karim Benzema
Karim Mostafa Benzema is a French footballer who currently plays as a striker for and captains La Liga club Real Madrid – He was born on 19th December 1987.
At the time of writing, he is Real Madrid’s second-highest goalscoere and top assister.
With the Los Blancos, Benzema has won 24 trophies, including four La Liga, two Copa del Rey and five UEFA Champions League titles.
Benzema moved to Real Madrid in 2009 for a then-French record football transfer fee worth €35 million.
Benzema moved from the false 9 position into a proper striker after Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018.
He was named in the La Liga Team of the Season for four years from 2018 to 2022, won La Liga Best Player twice and the Pichichi Trophy for the first time in his career in 2022.
Benzema finished as Champions League top scorer as he won his fifth title in 2022.
