Karim Benzema was substituted in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final at the Vicente Calderón in the 75th minute. He relinquished his place to Isco due to discomfort in his knee after a challenge. And, once again, he did not find the back of the net against Madrid’s local rivals, having produced another erratic performance. It is starting to become customary for the Frenchman to perform poorly against Atlético, above all since Diego Simeone returned to the Calderón to take charge of the team. Atleti’s defence seem to stifle the Frenchman’s creativity and keep his gunpowder dry.
The numbers indicate it: since Simeone became Atlético’s coach, Madrid have contested 16 derbies. Benzema has taken part in 15 of them (all of them as a starter) and despite the abundance of opportunities, he has only struck one goal against the city rivals. His goals per game average, in this respect, is a paltry 0.06.
His only goal against Atlético was struck on March 2 last year, in the league match at the Vicente Calderón. Benzema opened the scoring for Real Madrid after receiving the ball from Ángel Di María, in a match that finished 2-2 and ultimately proved to be instrumental as Atlético took the title.
In those 15 matches in which the France forward has clashed with Simeone’s Atlético, the balance of results is negative for Real Madrid: five wins, four draws and six defeats.
Pre-Simeone: also without luck
What’s true is that, in the period before Simeone returned to the Calderón, Atlético were not Benzema’s preferred opponents. The Frenchman played in five of seven derbies (including one substitute appearance) and netted one goal. His complete record against Atlético is as follows: two goals in 20 matches, with an average of 0.1 goals per game.
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