Ancelotti salutes Benzema after Real Madrid masterclass

Benzema continued where he left off from last season to help inspire Real Madrid to an opening day win over Deportivo Alaves in La Liga.

Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti has hailed Karim Benzema as a ‘complete player’ after his brilliant performance on Saturday.

The France international opened his account for the new season by scoring two goals in Real Madrid’s 4-1 win over Alaves. He broke the deadlock in the second half with a clever backheel assist from Eden Hazard. After Nacho doubled the club’s lead, Benzema put the game beyond doubt by scoring again.

18/08/13 – Benzema scores the 1st goal for Ancelotti as Real Madrid coach.

8 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿..

14/08/21 – Benzema scores the 1st goal for Ancelotti’s 2nd time as Real Madrid coach pic.twitter.com/1IBIc3bFfO

— Real Madrid Info ³⁴ (@RMadridInfo) August 15, 2021

“Benzema is the team’s finisher, and he can read the situation in the game superbly,” said Ancelotti in his post-match conference at the Mendizorroza.

“He moves well and helps out in possession. To call him a forward doesn’t tell the whole story because he’s a really complete player and a brilliant character. If I were to compare him to the Karim I had here five years ago, that would be the difference. He’s more complete now and has grown in personality.”

Vinicius Junior’s injury-time goal restored Real Madrid’s three-goal advantage after Joselu scored a penalty for Alaves.

Ancelotti’s side will now visit Levante for their second game of the new La Liga season next weekend.