Karim Benzema will never forget this season. Thirteen years have passed since his arrival at Madrid, and the 34-year-old striker is in his prime. At the age of 17, Benzema already knew what he wanted in life and where he wanted to reach as a soccer player.
Claudio Caçapa, a French's former teammate at Lyon, told an anecdote from the 2004/2005 season that demonstrates why Benzema is such a good player. "When a youth player came up, he had to give a speech at dinner or lunch, saying how old he was, where he came from and what he hoped to achieve with Lyon´s jersey. Karim stood up and said: 'I'm here to take the place of the strikers. I come with dedication, work and commitment to, for sure, take your place", he recalled.
Benzema's great moment has positioned him as the great candidate to win the Ballon d'Or. The striker has become a key player for Real Madrid and has led the team to another Champions League Final. El Merengue will play in its 17th Champions League final. In addition to scoring the winning goal, Benzema has broken several records.
The 5 records broken or equaled by Karim Benzema
With Benzema's penalty against Manchester City, the Frenchman reached his 43rd goal of the campaign. He equaled the best seasons achieved at the time by Alfredo Di Stefano (1956-67), and Hugo Sánchez (1986-87), and can still surpass them. He can do it in La Liga or in the Champions League Final.
Karim Benzema has equaled Cristiano Ronaldo’s record for the most knockout goals in a single Champions League campaign. With his goal against Manchester City, Benzema reached his tenth goal and he has equaled former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 10 knockout goals which the Portuguese superstar set in the 2017-18 season. Benzema can break the record in the Champions League Final at the Stade de France in Paris.
Karim Benzema has scored in 5 straight UCL knockout stage games, tied with Edin Dzeko for the 2nd-longest streak in the last 12 seasons. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the record, scoring in six consecutive KO games for Real Madrid in 2012-2013.
Karim Benzema has scored seven UEFA Champions League goals against English teams this season; the most by a player in a single campaign in the competition's history.
Benzema has raced to 86 Champions League goals. He has gone level with Robert Lewandowski (86). Only Cristiano Ronaldo (140) and Lionel Messi (125) are ahead.
Possible records that Benzema could break or equal in the short term
Karim Benzema is now just a goal shy of Raul's 323 goals for Real Madrid, second in the all-time top scorers list for the club. He'll have a fair way to go to beating the first, who is Cristiano Ronaldo with 450 (*451 according to Real Madrid).
Including the group stage, Benzema now sits on a total of 15 Champions League goals this season, two short of the 17 knocked in by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 2016/17 campaign. Benzema can break the record in the Champions League Final.
