Chronicle Benzema responds to Luis Suárez and writes the last sentence of the derby
Controversy. Madrid, annoyed with Hernández Hernández: "It's not new"
Opinion: Madrid never dies, Atleti commits suicide
When
Hernández Hernández
whistled the end of the Madrid derby,
Karim Benzema
, a bracelet on his arm, smiled, relieved.
The French striker had returned to
Zinedine Zidane's
eleven
after almost a month burdened by a muscle injury suffered on Thursday
, February 18, in training
.
At the time it seemed like a simple
wake-up call
, some discomfort in the
left adductor muscle
that shouldn't have gotten worse, but the passing days increased the Frenchman's pain and the club's concern.
"
I do not want to risk. I am not going to risk,
" Zidane insisted at a press conference after a press conference.
The French coach has already seen too many injuries, too many rehabilitations and too many relapses.
And Benzema's, along with
Carvajal's
mishap
half an hour into the game against Valencia, put him on notice.
And
Karim didn't force
.
He missed the visit to
Valladolid
, the trip to
Bergamo
for the knockout stages of the Champions League against Atalanta and the Di Stéfano game against
Real Sociedad
.
Three games in which Madrid only scored
three goals
and in which the Whites missed their starting striker a lot.
Casemiro
scored
in Pucela,
Mendy
in Italy and
Vinicius
in the final stretch of the match against Real.
And in the eleven, Zidane opted for
Mariano
in the league games and for
Isco
as a false nine in the continental tie.
The result?
Green shoots at the level of the game with the Andalusian, but scoring drought in the 270 minutes without Benzema.
Neither Mariano nor
Hugo Duro
were a guarantee solution.
"It is a joy for football"
In these circumstances came the preview of the derby and the looks of the entire
Valdebebas
Sports City
on the French attacker.
The medical team took care of him in detail during the previous days and he was able to work with the group for the first time at the end of the week, just in time for the Metropolitano.
Zidane did not give clues about his presence in the eleven, but finally he did not deny the participation of one of his favorite footballers.
"
It is a joy for football,
" summarized 'Zizou' about his star in the previous press conference.
Benzema jumped to Wanda with the classic bandage on his right hand and with
less rhythm than usual
during the first moments of the game.
The timid white pressure at Atlético's ball exit led her with doubts, and like her teammates she made a very irregular first half, with a single shot on goal, and nothing clear, in summary.
From villain to hero
In the second half the match turned upside down.
"The first half was for them and the second for us," summed up the number '9' at the end of the game.
In those 45 minutes, Benzema had time for everything, to be a
villain and a hero
.
He sent a frank shot high with his right foot and
missed Oblak on Madrid's clearest occasion.
Vinicius put a good pass that left him only before the Slovenian goalkeeper, the Frenchman finished off with his right, almost falling, and it came out too focused.
The goalkeeper had time to reject the shot with his left hand and the rebound was again left to Benzema, who again sent his second attempt to Oblak's chest, this time with his left.
He did not believe it.
A couple of minutes later,
the relief and survival of Madrid in the League
.
The French striker controlled the ball in front of the area, performed a '
one-two
' with which he beat two Atlético defenders and
enabled Casemiro
, who with Oblak on top decided to deliver the ball back to Benzema, who only had to push it.
With the final whistle,
the Frenchman hugged Oblak with a smile
and joked a bit with Casemiro, his assistant.
"I was talking to Case ... He was angry because two minutes before the goal he could have scored, but Oblak made a good save," he admitted.
"I am happy with the result.
It is a good point for us
and the League is not over," he acknowledged.
18 goals for him, 13 for his teammates
The French forward has three goals in the last three games he has played and has
accumulated 18 goals in all competitions
,
more than his teammates add together in the Whites attack
: 13. 4 Vinicius, 3 Hazard, 2 Asensio, 1 Mariano and 1 Rodrygo ... And Lucas Vázquez, who has participated as a winger for most of the season, adds two.
"
Is there a goal missing? I don't know ...
", reflected Benzema.
"We can put more because we always have chances. The important thing is to put them in and that's it," he concluded.
Now he will have seven days to continue with his set-up for the game against
Elche
and, above all, focusing on the
return of the round of 16 against Atalanta
.
There, in addition, Benzema should have the accompaniment of his friend
Eden Hazard
, who is already in the last stretch of the rehabilitation of his muscle injury.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Mariano Diaz
Casemiro
Eden Hazard
Ferland mendy
Isco Alarcon
Rodrygo Goes
Dani carvajal
Zinedine Zidane
Karim Benzema
sports
Real Madrid
football
LaLiga Santander 2020 - 2021 Mysteries, science and an important anger: the problem of injuries at Real Madrid
Champions League 2020 - 2021The warning from Kroos and Zidane: "We don't know much about Atalanta, it's something new"
LaLiga Santander 2020 - 2021Zidane, Benzema's return and the long wait for Hazard: "We are not going to risk"
See links of interest
2021 business calendar
Rome - Genoa
UCAM Murcia - Real Madrid
West Bromwich Albion - Newcastle United
Huesca - Celta de Vigo
Atlético - Real Madrid, live