Benzema is and has been in complete ownage mode since the beginning of the pre-season.

Physically, he has been able to maintain his body in great condition, he is going ridiculous amounts of sit ups everyday to keep those abs in shape, ala ronaldo and he has considerably improved his upper body strength. It's getting funny to see defenders bounce off him, gone is the time he would lose his balance on a mere shoulder duel.

Mentally, through hard work and dedication, he has won the respect of absolutely everyone within the squad. His work ethic is top notch now, he works as hard on the pitch as he does off the pitch. Everyone pushed and supported him, and he fully integrated himself in the groups within the squad. He doesnt need to shadow lass anymore to fell like he exists, but he has grown friendships with the likes of ozil, ronaldo, khedira etc... Actually, he is doing the babysitting now for Varane. He overflows with confidence now.

Tactically, as n.9 he has grown into an all around forward. He tracks back, makes runs, comes deeper to get the ball, go wide to stretch the game, links up, top notch technique. HIs all around game is very strong, he will perform even if he doesnt score, and scoring will just be the cherry on top of his games. With self confidence back, he shows less hesitation in attack, takes more responsibility, he takes charge. His understanding with the whole attack has grown significantly, they understand his rhythm ans movements, and they are able to synchronized well together when they play.

He has been racking up goals all preseason long and building up confidence. He has shown he is a relevant player against Barca, and that was a huge boost as he had back to back great perf against them. I think it's empowering for him to have stepped above that challenge and scored.

Imo, Benzema is set to score around 35 goals this season. In la Liga, he is now a starter, and i have no doubt he will beat his record from last season, he is coming in the season with a great rhythm already; might not play as much in copa, but he usually scores a lot in cup competitions; including the CL, where he has great numbers, and has shown he feels comfortable in that environment.

How many will he score, in your opinion? all competitions ofc

i had a hard time picking >35 i think he will score somewhere between 30-35 maybe more than 35 if he stays injury free.

20 la liga
8 cl
5 cdr

could score more in each competition imo.

If he stays healthy I think he can get to 35... I'm really excited for him, I always expected him to be our striker for the decade when he signed and now he is starting to really come together... Hope he keeps it up!

41 goals.

tmo prediction extraordinaire.

35-45 goals for me, i knew this kid was special the moment i saw him for the first time at lyon

Agreed that Benzema is looking hot. Back in thet days, I posted on the forums that he was "the next Ronaldo"... for once, I might be right. He reminds me a lot of R9 and his playing style is nearly identical. Who knows, France have a great generation coming through, maybe he'll bag a world cup, some La Ligas and a CL or two... He's headed in the direction of legendary status I daresay.

I think the talent was always there, and most importantly, he's emotionally matured. At the age of 24, the sky is the limit from here...

He's still 23... Not 24.

We'll see. Injuries happen and drop of form happens in a season. I want to see how he handles the obstacles that are thrown his way.

If everything is smooth and no injuries to him, cr7 and ozil, he'll be around 40. If it's a normal season with some issues here and there 30-35.

This is the year he needs to establish himself as undeniably WC. He can do it. But 40 goals is very rare... Stars need to align for that. Could happen.

Don't jinx him, one injury and he could be screwed for long

We paid 35 million euro for him, so he better deliver this year if you ask me.

I hope so.
But its real hard for me to get excited at a forward who has scored so much in preseason.


But he is on a roll right now and his confidence is sky high so lets hope he carries this form with him throughout La Liga.

Zealous wrote:We paid 35 million euro for him, so he better deliver this year if you ask me.

The Benzema realist strikes again....

I'm still trying to understand how 26 goals and 8 assists in 2/3 of a season is not delivering...

So Benzema has taken Higuain's starting spot?

I'll set my expectations at 25 goals for the year and be grateful for anything higher...

mtfootball wrote:So Benzema has taken Higuain's starting spot?

Of course, HIguain isnt going to come back from injury and just start again. He is now n2, so is the law of competition.

If Benzema didn't have such a fine pre-season, Higuain would have probably gotten it back. However, Benzema has shown that he is capable of leading the lines and thus has earned the starting spot. Although I really don't trust him like I do with Higgy...

I think he did 70% of it during the course of last season, and he showed resiliency against the threat of a new CF coming this summer.

HIguain just cant be our leading striker at the moment.

It would actually be unfair to Benzema if Higuain had gotten back his spot just like that. As the french man wrote, laws of a competitive team and what not....

Not like Benzema scored 50 goals vs Barca or something last season in the absence of Higuain.

Which is why I still have my reservations.

mtfootball wrote:Not like Benzema scored 50 goals vs Barca or something last season in the absence of Higuain.

I dont recall HIguain scoring 50 goals vs barca either.

Is there a point you are trying to make?

i noticed you strange bias against Benzema lately, Higuain will not walk into the 1st 11. Benz is looking fantastic lately, and he earned his starting spot in the pas couple of months.

I'm just saying Benzema wasn't exceptional while Higuain was out. He did average/adequately.

Average... and he was the 3rd best scorer in Europe in 2011. Very average.

mtfootball wrote:I'm just saying Benzema wasn't exceptional while Higuain was out. He did average.

cool story bro. i just recall benzema overcoming Lyon in CL, which Higuain choked against, and Benzema carrying the attack in march-april, when ronaldo decided to take a break. but yeah, he did nothing of note, without higuain the attack went to sh#t, oh well