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What’s the story?
Karim Benzema, in a recent interview, opened up about being a part of the famous trio of himself, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo (BBC). The Frenchman said that his role was secondary to his fellow attackers despite him being a number 9, and thus allowing Ronaldo to be the main goal scorer.
In case you didn’t know…
Ronaldo and Benzema joined Real Madrid in 2009, whereas Bale joined Los Blancos in 2013 to form the formidable trio, which went on to win 4 UEFA Champions League titles in 5 years. The Spanish giants ended their long wait for La Decima in the Welshman's first season, and they went on to conquer everything possible.
The trio combined to score 442 goals in the five seasons that they played together, and the Portuguese topped the charts as he grabbed 249 in those seasons.
However, with Ronaldo having moved to Juventus, Karim Benzema has taken on the goal-scoring burden. He had an excellent 2018-19 season despite Real's collective troubles, and has started this season well under the returning Zinedine Zidane.
The heart of the matter
In a recent interview, Karim Benzema opened up about the clearly defined roles each of them had to play in the team, with the Frenchman himself drawing defenders away from Ronaldo, who had the poacher's instinct.
He said:
"You had a rocket (Gareth) and a goal scorer (Ronaldo), and then there was me, the piece that made it all work."
"Here, the finisher was Cristiano. I played a different role. I was involved more in the construction of moves and trying to open up spaces. For me, he was the the best goal-scorer even if he played on the left. I moved away to open up space and let him score."
What's next?
Benzema and Bale suffered a difficult season at Real Madrid after Ronaldo's departure, but with new signings like Luka Jovic and Eden Hazard, we might see a new trio at the Bernabeu very soon.
Real Madrid next face Levante on the 14th of September at home in their fourth match of the LaLiga season.
