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SHAHID

We said, “Karim Benzema breathed a sigh of relief with the departure of Nuno Santo, as he scored a hat-trick in the first match after his departure,” and it seems that we were hasty in judging him, as the Frenchman has once again returned to his humble level that he has been performing since joining the federation.

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Benzema was present tonight in Al-Ittihad’s draw against Al-Ettifaq with one goal each, in the 14th round of the Saudi Roshen League, as Georginio Wijnaldum scored the goal for Al-Nawakhtha, and Moroccan Abdel Razzaq Hamdallah tied for the Tigers.

Karim Benzema’s numbers in the match

The Dean striker made four shots, of which only one was on goal, while he created one opportunity for his teammates, which was not exploited.

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In terms of duels, Karim excelled in three out of four, and in two aerial tackles out of three, while he lost the ball five times, while he passed the ball 19 times, the least of his team’s players who played the entire match, which shows the extent of his isolation in most minutes.

To Benzema… Did you know that the match is 90 minutes long?

“Al-Government” was the most dangerous Al-Ameed player against Al-Nawakhatha’s goal in the first half of the match, although he was timid in light of his team’s generally modest offensive performance.

The Frenchman had two dangerous chances in the first half of the match; The first was in the 13th minute inside the penalty area, but he recklessly shot the ball into the body of the Al-Ettifaq player.

As for the second opportunity, it was more dangerous, in the 18th minute, after the Brazilian Igor Coronado executed a free kick from the right side of the center of the Al-Nawakhda Stadium, with a cross into the penalty area, and Benzema followed it with a dangerous header, but goalkeeper Paulo Victor blocked it from the goal line, before deflecting it. Defense away.

Meanwhile, in the same half, he almost caused Al-Ettifaq to advance, after he passed the ball incorrectly in the middle of the field to the opposing players, until the ball reached Wijnaldum on the edge of the penalty area, and he shot a powerful shot, but it went into the net of goalkeeper Marcelo Grohe from the outside.

What was noted about Benzema’s performance in general in the match was his preference to move back to his team’s midfield repeatedly, in light of the clear inability to move the ball from the midfield of Al-Ameed Stadium to Al-Nawakhatha Stadium.

In the second half of the match, Benzema’s performance declined noticeably and perhaps disappeared, as if he had completely isolated himself from his teammates, while Al-Ittihad’s threat was “limited” through its playmaker Coronado.

But the strange irony is that although Hamdallah’s condition was worse than him in the match, from the only opportunity he had in the 53rd minute, he was able to score Al-Ittihad’s only goal with a perfect shot from inside the penalty area, which is exactly what is required of the striker, even if he technically disappeared and his fingerprint appeared. In his opponent’s net!

The disappearance of Karim was a big question mark, especially with the departure of the duo, Saleh Al-Omari and Marwan Al-Sahafi, in the 66th minute, but Coronado snatched the shot from him, thank God, and was the most dangerous on Al-Ittihad’s front lines, even if it was useless and did not succeed in seizing the winning goal for the team.

Benzema’s appearance at intervals in general with Al-Ittihad since his contract makes us think sarcastically that he does not know that matches in Saudi Arabia are 90 minutes long, as they are in Spain and in the entire world! Perhaps it is the age factor (35 years old), or it may be a lack of adaptation yet, we do not know. Exactly!

SHAHID