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Madrid (AFP) – Big favorite for the awarding of the Ballon d’Or, Karim Benzema finally returns to competition on Wednesday in the Champions League (9:00 p.m.) against Shakhtar Donetsk, back from injury before the avalanche of essential deadlines awaiting the Real striker Madrid in October.
The stakes are multiple for the French international: to regain the first place in the championship, ceded this weekend to FC Barcelona; qualify Real for the round of 16 of C1; triumph in the clasico de Liga on October 16 and finally win the Ballon d’Or on October 17 in Paris; and fly to the World Cup in Qatar in November … This is the busy program that awaits the French goleador from Real in the coming weeks.
His return to competition, after a thigh injury, did not start in an idyllic way this weekend.
Karim Benzema started as a starter on Sunday but missed the winning goal against Osasuna. While Real Madrid and the Pamplona club were back to back (1-1), the former Lyonnais saw his penalty crash into the crossbar in the 79th minute, and the victory was gone.
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Against Shakhtar, in the competition that saw him guide Real to victory in last season’s epic, Benzema will once again have the confidence of Carlo Ancelotti.
“I don’t think this missed penalty affects him very much. He is above it all,” swept his teammate Dani Carvajal on Tuesday at a pre-match press conference. “For us he remains indispensable, he is the best in the world in his position. I hope he can score two or three goals to erase all that. I’m sure he can’t wait for the game to start to make so that we start dreaming with him again”, supported the side.
Stoppage or launching pad?
Replaced by Eden Hazard from the 30th minute of the match against Celtic Glasgow on September 6 for the first day of the Champions League, Benzema left grimacing, and the examinations had detected “a semitendinosus muscle injury as well as an overload muscle, both to the quadriceps of the right leg”.
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His absence did not harm the people of Madrid, who chained four victories and scored eleven goals without him. The Blues suffered more: without “KB9”, France beat Austria 2-0 but lost by the same score in Denmark.
For Benzema, this month of less competition in the legs is not synonymous with a setback. On the contrary. During this forced break, “KB9” took care of himself, but also “worked a lot physically”.
“The last few days I have been running a lot and working on physical strength. At home I have also been training. This summer I came back late from my holidays and I did not have time to do a good pre -summer season. There, I was able to do a little and I feel really good.”, confided the center-forward on the channel of his club on September 28.
“I always want more”
This summer, Benzema had benefited from an additional week of vacation compared to the rest of the Real internationals, and had therefore resumed training a little later.
“Not having done a full pre-season may have served him a little badly. But there, his physical condition is excellent and after this period of forced rest, I’m sure we’ll see the best Karim again,” said assured Ancelotti Friday at a press conference.
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Crowned top scorer and best player of the past season in La Liga by the newspaper Marca a week ago, Karim Benzema intends to return to his best level in October. “I always want more,” he slipped when receiving his prizes.
In sight, the clasico of October 16 against Barça, where he will finally face his new Barcelona rival Robert Lewandowski, and the delivery of the Ballon d’Or in Paris on October 17, for which he is arch-favorite.
According to the press, the extension of his contract, which ends on June 30, 2023, is already in the pipeline for Real.
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