KARIM Benzema has taken his UEFA Champions League goals total to 71, matching Real Madrid great Raúl González’s tally to become the joint fourth highest scorer in Europe’s top club football competition.
Now 33, Benzema scored for Lyon on his UEFA Champions League debut – in a 2-1 group stage win against Rosenborg on 6 December 2005, 13 days before his 18th birthday.
He left France for Madrid in 2009 (the same summer that Cristiano Ronaldo joined the Merengues), and has maintained his record of scoring at least one UEFA Champions League goal a season for 16 campaigns. It’s a record he shares with Lionel Messi.
The Frenchman’s next challenge may be to see whether he can overtake Robert Lewandowski (73 goals) to move up to third on the list. Lewandowski is around nine months younger than Benzema.
In any case, with six goals this season, the Real Madrid ace
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
