On Sunday, a spectacular Real Madrid’s 3-0 win over Atletico Bilbao sparked a hope to survive in the league. But it was Karim Benzema that took the limelight as he managed to score a hattrick that has led them to win this fixture. Zinedine Zidane said Karim Benzema is the best number nine in the world and he has been the only savior among the European champions in the campaign as he is the only whose tally has reached to 30 goals for the season. “What he has done here over 10 years means everything,” Zinedine Zidane said. “For me, he is the best, but others might disagree.”
This victory drifted Madrid four points behind second-placed Atletico and still 13 adrift of Barcelona, still way far to reach a safe spot in the Europa League. Benzema had to make an action after the departure of Ronaldo and once Zidane was appointed, Benzema got enough time to spend on the field and this was spotted after Gareth Bale was substituted after spending 20 minutes on the pitch.
For all the impatience of the home crowd, it was Bale who won the corner for Benzema’s second and then teed up his team-mate’s third in injury-time.
But his sixth season at Real Madrid will surely be his last, with Zidane saying little either to express support or suggest he wants the Welshman to stay beyond the summer.
“The shame was he had a chance to score and I felt sorry for him because I would have liked him to score today,” Zidane said.
Bale and Benzema were left with the gargantuan task of filling the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure last summer and while Bale seems to have shriveled under the weight of expectation, Benzema has thrived.
The 31-year-old has now claimed all of Madrid’s last eight goals in La Liga, a run that includes five matches, while in his last seven games, he has scored 10.
