Player Focus: Ancelotti Sticking by Benzema Despite Latest Barren Spell

Speaking just after Real Madrid lost 1-0 in the Spanish Supercopa second leg at Atlético Madrid on September 22, Blancos coach Carlo Ancelotti’s facial expression suggested more than a little resignation at having to face the same question yet again.

Ancelotti was once more being asked whether he was concerned that his only traditional centre-forward Karim Benzema had scored just once in his last 15 club games.

“I am very happy with Benzema,” Ancelotti said as his left eyebrow arched ever higher. “Although he did not score he is useful for the team. We do not need another solution at centre-forward.” 

The questioning of Benzema’s worth nonetheless continued in the Spanish press during the final weeks of the transfer window, with most stories conveniently forgetting that during this apparent barren spell their number nine Madrid had managed to win both the Copa del Rey and Champions League trophies.

Certain reporters nonetheless continued campaigns to persuade Madrid president Florentino Pérez to sign Radamel Falcao from Monaco. In the end Pérez apparently decided against signing Falcao, but did bring in another goalscorer - with Javier Hernández arriving on loan from Manchester United just as the transfer window slammed shut.

While we can take it that Ancelotti did not want to have to deal with Falcao in his squad, the Italian’s views towards Chicharito are still unknown. For although the Mexico international is one of the best specialist finishers around, there is not really a need for that type of player in the current Madrid set-up.

Benzema’s most telling performances for Madrid actually came during the ‘barren spell’ bemoaned by some pundits, when his value was mostly as a facilitator for Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, not as a scorer himself. The combination between the ‘BBC’ was key to Madrid’s Decima success last year, and while the nominal centre-forward scored fewer goals than either of those flanking him, his hard work and clever movement was key to making the trident work.

The former Lyon player’s best games in his first five years at Madrid were possibly the two semi-final clashes with Bayern Munich last season, when his role in his side’s counter-attacking style was most evident. Benzema scored the first leg’s only goal, first starting a break deep in his own half, then racing forward to convert Fabio Coentrao’s cross. He had an even better second leg as Madrid won 4-0 at the Allianz Arena, most evidently when his clever pass sent Bale flying clear and the Welshman laid on Ronaldo’s record 14th goal of a European Cup season. 

Benzema knows his role in the team, and seems to like playing as a ‘nine and a half’, whose primary task is a tactical one.

“We knew it was going to be difficult against a great opponent and it was,” he himself said proudly after April's Bernabeu first leg. “We knew how to play in a very tactical way, and we caught them on the break. We were aware that Bayern is a team who like to have the ball. We had to be very well organised, all together and quick on the counter. And the truth is that tactic worked very well.” 

The stats bear out this impression of Benzema as an intelligent all-round forward. During his 206 league and European games (57 as sub) for Madrid he has provided 51 assists, making 1.3 key passes per game, and averaging 0.2 through balls. His creative work has notably increased through recent years, as he has become increasingly comfortable with dropping deep and linking the play. 2013/14 was his best season for both key passes (1.8 per game) and through balls (0.3). Two years previously he had scored more goals (21 in 26 La Liga starts), but provided less of an overall contribution.

Hernández’s figures through his five years in the Premier League suggest he is not really set out for such a ‘tactical’ role. He made just 10 assists in his 126 appearances in the Premier and Champions League (63starts and 63 games as a sub) for Manchester United. Through that time he averaged just 0.6 key passes and 0.1 through balls per game. A pass success of 82.9% says he had no problem linking with opponents, but his other stats suggest he was not playing a role as a creator. 44 goals over that time – especially considering he was so often coming off the bench – shows that his job was primarily as a finisher. 

The new man could now inherit Álvaro Morata’s supersub role from last season, when the youngster averaged just 23 minutes on the pitch over his 28 appearances. Even Morata’s one goal every 69.9 minutes - a better rate than Ronaldo or Lionel Messi managed - was not enough to earn him a starting spot. When Benzema went over 500 minutes of La Liga action without scoring for Madrid last August, and was whistled by his own team’s fans at the Bernabeu, Ancelotti still stuck firmly with the man who gets the best out of galacticos Ronaldo and Bale. That situation is unlikely to change this year. 

Asked at his presentation last week if he saw himself as just a back-up, Chicharito dodged the question by just saying he was overjoyed to be at Madrid.

“I am coming here to do what I can, to give everything for this club,” he said. “I just see this as a great opportunity to do what I do best in life, to play football. To be part of this great squad, with the best players in the world, is such an opportunity for me.”

Such a positive attitude might come in useful over the next few months. Because Benzema’s all-round game means no matter how many goals he nets off the bench, Chicharito will not dislodge Ancelotti’s favourite number nine from the starting team.

Do you think Ancelotti was right to stick by Benzema or should he have gone for Falcao? Will Hernandez be a success at Madrid? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below