Two goals in 12 games: Benzema drought could derail Madrid's season again

When Karim Benzema scores, Real Madrid usually win – and they certainly don’t lose.

The French striker has 18 goals this season, with Madrid winning 11 matches and drawing four of the games in which he has found the net. Unfortunately for Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane, his compatriot has gone off the boil in 2020, with only two strikes in his last 12 matches.

Since the goals dried up, Madrid have been knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Real Sociedad and stumbled to a draw against Celta Vigo and defeat at Levante, allowing rivals Barcelona to reclaim pole position in La Liga.

Benzema had struck 10 in the previous 10 games, along with providing five assists, continuing the elite form he showed through 2019, when he was Madrid’s only outstanding player, helping keep his side afloat after record goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo jumped ship.

A decade ago, then-Madrid coach Jose Mourinho labelled Benzema a cat, rather than the hunting dog he wanted, but the forward transformed, in his own words, into "a lion", even more so after Ronaldo’s departure for Juventus in 2018, when he took on the brunt of the goalscoring responsibility.

He hit 30 goals last season, his second-best ever return in a campaign.

But los Blancos’ season crumbled at this stage of the season, with cup and league defeats by Barcelona, and a Champions League last-16 humiliation by Ajax all coming in the space of a week. Benzema, despite his fine form at the time, failed to score in any of those matches.

Now, there is a risk of Real suddenly falling to pieces again, with Manchester City and Barcelona both due at the Santiago Bernabeu this week.

Consequently, Madrid need Benzema back at his best.

He and Zidane will be wondering why things have become a lot harder since Christmas. Benzema missed the Spanish Super Cup in early January because his leg was bruised, not starting a game between January 4 and January 26.

That three-week period may have disrupted his considerable momentum – especially considering the winter break arrived at the end of December.

Perhaps the state of grace he was in during 2019 was unsustainable but Zidane’s shift to a 4-5-1 formation didn’t help Benzema, although the coach has brought the 4-3-3 back in the past couple of games.

“Now even Benzema can’t score,” lamented Marca after the 1-0 defeat at Levante on Saturday which left Madrid two points behind Barcelona. Benzema’s form is such a concern because no other players have proven prolific.

Zidane clearly doesn’t trust Serbian signing Luka Jovic, who has started just four games all season, Gareth Bale has continued to disappoint and last summer’s marquee arrival Eden Hazard is stricken by injury again. If Benzema can’t score, there’s no other obvious candidate.

Sergio Ramos and Casemiro have been handy in front of goal but Madrid can’t rely on them to keep digging the club out of holes going forward. Benzema scored in both group matches against Man City in the 2012-13 competition and the onus is on him to help Madrid oust Pep Guardiola’s side, as they did 1-0 on aggregate in the 2015-16 semi-finals.

With 13 league goals this season he is only behind Barcelona’s Lionel Messi in the Pichichi table of top scorers, and is proud of how he has performed despite his recent dip.

“You can never tell if you're at the summit of your career, because you're always seeking perfection,” he told UEFA in an interview this week. “But I've hit a really high level of performance and, despite that, I'm still looking to give more because I know that I've got the chance to go even higher.”

To Benzema’s credit, one of the two goals he scored came at a crucial time, tapping home at the back post to earn Madrid a 1-0 win over rivals Atletico at the start of February. The other was in a 4-0 rout of Real Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey.

According to AS,  Madrid and Benzema have agreed an extension to his contract by one year, until 2022, which will be announced at the end of the season. It shows they think this recent form is just a minor issue and he will soon be back on the goal trail.

Benzema has taken 23 shots in the division since he scored against Valencia at Mestalla in December, with only 12 on target and just the one goal, against Diego Simeone’s Rojiblancos.

The clashes with Man City and Barcelona are bigger still and Benzema must arouse from his slumber to help Madrid navigate through the looming icebergs.