How Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d'Or

With uncertainty surrounding the Santiago Bernabeu following the slightly surprising summer appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as manager, Madrid needed to get off to a good start, and Benzema helped ensure they did just that.

He scored twice, including the Blancos' first goal of the campaign, in their season-opening 4-1 win away at Alaves, though they did drop points the following week against Levante.

Benzema provided two assists in that 3-3 draw, and backed that up by crossing for Dani Carvajal to score the only goal of the game against Real Betis to round out the month.

After beginning the month with three goalless games for France, Benzema returned to Madrid having gone five matches without finding the net for club and country.

He soon put that right, though, netting a hat-trick in a 5-2 win over Celta Vigo to kickstart a month that saw him score seven times in six September matches.

That included a double against Mallorca that helped bring up his 200th league strike for Madrid, while he also provided a clutch of assists that put him on a record-breaking pace in La Liga.

No player had ever previously had 15 direct goal involvements in the first six games of a Spanish top-flight season, but Benzema was only just getting started.

October proved to be a quieter month in front of goal for Benzema in Madrid colours, as he netted just twice in four outings, but it was the month that provided him with his first piece of silverware of the season.

The striker netted in both the semi-finals and final of the Nations League, against Belgium and Spain respectively, as France came from behind both times to lift the trophy in Italy.

His partnership with Kylian Mbappe was clearly blossoming at international level, and that left Madrid fans dreaming of what the pair could produce together if paired together in the Spanish capital.

To underline just how ridiculous Benzema's 2021-22 season was, November felt like one of his quieter months, and yet he still managed to score eight goals in seven games for club and country.

That included both goals in a 2-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk and strikes in narrow league victories over Rayo Vallecano and Sevilla at either end of the month.

He ended November by narrowly missing out on a podium finish in the 2021 Ballon d'Or race, ranking fourth behind Jorginho, Robert Lewandowski and six-time winner Lionel Messi.

Benzema played just five games in December, but still managed four goals and some match-winning contributions.

He began the month by netting the only goal in a 1-0 win over Athletic Club before opening the scoring in the 2-0 derby win over Atletico Madrid.

He then rounded off 2021 by scoring twice in the opening seven minutes as Madrid beat Athletic for the second time in a matter of weeks, this time at San Mames.

New year, same Benzema, who hit the ground running in 2022 with a brace against Valencia on January 8.

Madrid then travelled to Saudi Arabia for the Spanish Supercopa, and Benzema was on hand to score in both their semi-final defeat of Barcelona and the 2-0 final win over Athletic Club – who must have been sick of the sight of him by then.

Benzema's month ended in anguish, however, as he suffered a hamstring injury against Elche that would rule him out for four weeks.

After missing three games through injury – including a 1-0 loss to Athletic Club in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey – Benzema returned to the Madrid line-up for their Champions League last-16 first-leg clash with Paris Saint-Germain.

He looked well off the pace at Parc des Princes, however, as Kylian Mbappe's late goal ensured the French champions secured a slim advantage to take into the second leg.

Any concerns over further rustiness were brushed off within days, however, as Benzema returned to league action to play a direct role in all three of Madrid's goals against Alaves before netting an 83rd-minute winner away at Rayo Vallecano the following week.

Benzema was definitely a Ballon d'Or contender heading into March, but this was the month that he became the outright favourite.

Having kicked off the month by both scoring and assisting against Real Sociedad, he put in his defining performance of the season four days later by scoring a second-half hat-trick to turn the PSG tie on its head and earn Madrid a place in the quarter-finals.

Benzema backed that up by assisting the first and scoring the other two in a 3-0 win over Mallorca, making him the highest-scoring French player in the modern era, overtaking Thierry Henry.

If his importance to Madrid wasn't clear enough by now, it was after their final match of the month, when a calf problem ruled Benzema out of El Clasico at the Bernabeu. Ancelotti's side were toothless without him, as they went down 4-0 at home to a resurgent Barcelona.

Benzema was the Ballon d'Or favourite heading into April, and by the end of the month he was all-but assured of his first Golden Ball.

After scoring both goals in a win over Celta Vigo to ensure his best-ever scoring season, Benzema confirmed his ascension to an almost unstoppable force with his second hat-trick in back-to-back Champions League games, this time on the road against Chelsea.

He then scored the tie's deciding goal in extra-time after the Blues had launched a comeback in the second leg, and backed that up with a stoppage-time winner against Sevilla the following weekend.

Confidence was sky high by now, as illustrated by his ice-cold Panenka penalty against Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals – one of two goals he scored in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Four days later, he stepped off the bench to score in the 4-0 win over Espanyol four days later that sealed the Liga title.

Madrid and Benzema looked to be heading out of the Champions League as the second leg of their semi-final tie against Manchester City entered the final minute with the aggregate score reading 5-3 to Pep Guardiola's side.

It was at that point, though, that the striker's cross was headed in by Rodrygo, sparking another outrageous comeback win from the newly-crowned Spanish champions that was capped by Benzema's penalty in extra-time.

For much of the rest of May, Benzema was in and out of the team in a bid for him to be in prime condition for the Champions League final in Paris.

And though he didn't score against Liverpool, he did pose a threat and had a goal – perhaps harshly – ruled out as Vinicius Junior's strike sealed a 1-0 win and 13th European Cup for the competition's most successful team.

Benzema concluded his campaign with a goal for France in their Nations League opener against Denmark in early June, taking his tally for club and country in 2021-22 to 50 goals in just 56 games.

He also provided 16 assists on his way to winning four trophies in one of the more remarkable individual seasons from a player not named Messi or Ronaldo in the past 15 years.

This is a Ballon d'Or that is more than deserved.