Benzema in 'best form' of his Real Madrid career, says Zidane

A forward who remained in Cristiano Ronaldo’s shadow for a long time has been able to show his sharpness in front of goal in recent times.

Karim Benzema’s ability to lead the Real Madrid attack was called into question when Cristiano Ronaldo departed back in 2018.

The striker remained relatively silent during Ronaldo’s nine years at Santiago Bernabeu as he played a supporting role for the Portuguese and let him do what he does best.

Benzema, however, has been able to silence those critical of his goalscoring capabilities.

The former Lyon man scored 21 goals in 37 games, only second to Lionel Messi in the league campaign, to guide Real Madrid to the title in 2019/20.

He has continued his fine form in front of goal this season, scoring seven times in 11 league outings while also registering five assists.

📊| Karim Benzema has scored 29% of Real Madrid’s goals since Zidane took over for his second tenure in March 2019. That’s a higher percentage than Cristiano Ronaldo scored during Zidane’s first tenure (28%). @diarioas #rmalive pic.twitter.com/KeTWZdK4Ur
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) December 16, 2020

The Frenchman is his side’s leading goalscorer (11), assist provider (5), has the most shots (40), shots on target (18), and big chances created (5) across all competitions.

“I think so, yes. Most recently he’s been in his best form. What he’s doing recently, he’s been phenomenal,” Zinedine Zidane firmly responded when asked if Benzema is playing the best football of his career for Real Madrid, via Goal.

“What’s yet to come? I think Karim can even get better than he is now – that’s what we all hope, for the team, for him, personally.

“On top, it’s his ambition. He wants to get better as well as a player. That’s very important.”