Karim Benzema continues to move his name up Real Madrid’s record books, this time jumping into second place all-time on their La Liga goal-scorers list.
The 2022 Ballon d’Or winner reached 230 goals in the Spanish topflight thanks to a brace against Elche on Wednesday night. As a result, Karim Benzema has surpassed the legendary Raul; the retired forward recorded 228 La Liga strikes in his career.
There is now just one man ahead of the Frenchman in the Real Madrid all-time La Liga scoring charts. Unfortunately, though, he is quite a way behind. Cristiano Ronaldo holds the top spot (of course), with a staggering 311 goals, per La Liga.
What makes this all the more impressive in Ronaldo’s case is that he joined Los Blancos in the same summer as Benzema. However, the Portuguese forward left in 2018 – whereas Benzema continues to lead Real’s attack today.
But take nothing away from Madrid’s captain, who has earned legendary status at the club. In terms of goals in all comps, Benzema sits second on that all-time list, too. He has 339 goals from 628 appearances at time of writing, which he will surely add to this season.
While last night’s win was historic for Karim Benzema, it also proved crucial in Real’s pursuit of another La Liga title.
Karim Benzema helps Los Blancos narrow the gap at top of La Liga
The Spanish giants swept aside Elche 4-0 in a dominant performance at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night.
The visitors respectfully gave the FIFA Club World Cup winners a guard of honour before kick-off. Soon after the game’s start, Madrid showed exactly why they are world champions.
Marco Asensio danced his way through the Elche defence before sliding the ball past Edgar Badia in the goal. Thanks to the Spaniard’s wonderful effort, Madrid were 1-0 up within the first ten minutes.
Los Blancos then earned a penalty at the half-hour mark. Karim Benzema’s header hit the arm of Enzo Roco, forcing the referee to point to the spot. Real’s captain duly lifted his pen into the top corner to double the home side’s advantage.
Things went from bad to worse for Elche as they gave away another penalty just before the break. Following a foul on Rodrygo, Karim Benzema whipped a spot-kick to the opposite side of the goal to score his 230th La Liga goal.
The second half followed the first’s trend of being one-way Real traffic. They peppered the visitor’s goal, ultimately ending the game with 26 shots. Despite this, it took until minute 80 to score their fourth.
Luka Modric found space on the edge of the box which allowed the Croatian to drill home his sixth goal of 2022/23.
Thanks to the comprehensive victory, Real Madrid keep within touching distance of Barcelona at the top of La Liga. Even with the three points, though, they are still eight points behind their Catalan rivals.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side will therefore have to hope for some slip-ups if they are going to catch Barca.
Featured image credit: La Liga