Real Madrid bets on Karim Benzema re-creating last season's success

When Karim Benzema went down in pain after getting hurt in a practice session during Real Madrids preseason tour in the United States it was understandable why his teammates and the coaching staff appeared concernedMadrid cant afford to lose Benzema who was the teams best player last season and had a key role as the club won the Champions League and the Spanish leagueTo repeat its success Madrid knows it will need the 34yearold France striker to perform at a high level for another season And the club bets he can do itThankfully for Madrid it was just a knock that brought Benzema down in practice across the pond He is set to be ready when Madrid begins its season this monthBenzema is in good shape Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said during the teams preseason tour He is fine despite not having trained much He came back well Hes fine but still needs to work on his fitnessBenzema did not play in the friendly against Barcelona in Las Vegas a few weeks ago when Madrid struggled offensively in a 10 loss Benzema was back in the starting lineup against Mexican club Ameacuterica in San Francisco playing well and scoring a goal in the 22 draw He also scored once in the teams 20 win over Juventus in Los AngelesBenzema is the best player in the world so we obviously lack something when he is not playing Ancelotti saidAlso Read Watch PSG defender and exReal Madrid captain Sergio Ramos unveils hilarious goal celebration with HakimiMadrid is hoping Benzema can perform at least close to how he did last season when he led an attack that also included Viniacutecius Juacutenior and Rodrygo The trio helped the club score 80 goals in the Spanish league 12 more than any other clubBenzema also was crucial as a leader and advisor to the youngstersKarims been telling me to be brave since I arrived at the club the 22yearold Viniacutecius saidWe have had a very good connection and have linked up to win a lot of gamesBenzema himself had his best season ever being the top scorer in the Spanish league and the Champions League He scored 44 goals from 45 matches with Madrid and equaled Rauacutel Gonzaacutelez as the clubs secondhighest scorer with 323 goals behind the 451 of Cristiano RonaldoThe Frenchman a strong candidate to win best player of the year awards for his performances last season has thrived after being in the shadow of Ronaldo until the Portugal star left for Juventus in 2018Madrid did not make many highprofile signings since Ronaldo left and its attempt to boost its attack with Kylian Mbappeacute failed this season The other forwards in the squad include Eden Hazard Marco Asensio and Mariano Diacuteaz Gareth Bale left at the end of last season and the club did not replace himThe teams only additions to the squad came in defense with central defender Antonio Ruumldiger and midfielder Aureacutelien TchouameacuteniIf Benzema remains in top form though Madrid should do just fine with the players it has in the squadMadrids season begins on Aug 10 in the UEFA Super Cup against Eintracht Frankfurt in HelsinkiThe club will play its first match in the Spanish league on Aug 14 at promoted AlmeriacuteaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever