Karim Benzema’s wonderful new hat-trick, Wednesday against Chelsea (1-3) in the Champions League, ignited the European press. The striker is already a candidate for the next Ballon d’Or.
Each time he pushes the boundaries of the extraordinary a little further. Karim Benzema delivered another exceptional performance on Wednesday by scoring his hat-trick in a row in the Champions League. After Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of the Round of 16, Chelsea punished the same way in the first leg of the quarter-finals to give Real Madrid a decisive lead (1-3). Here he is the second highest scorer in the competition with 11 goals (behind Robert Lewandowski). At 34, he’s simply signing the best season of his career, but he’s already full of awards and great performances.
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Therefore, the Frenchman appeared in one of the European daily newspapers. This is clearly the case in Spain where Marca dubbed him ‘Big Ben’ in comparison to the large bell atop Elizabeth Tower, London’s most emblematic spot, which Benzema set foot on Wednesday. Like, another sports newspaper in the Spanish capital, put out an old front page dating back to 2009, a few days after the Frenchman signed the club from Lyon. There he appeared with his young face behind this quote: “Benzema could be the new Ronaldo.”
“Benzema surpassed Ronaldo,” confirms a
A reference to the Brazilian legend, Benzema’s idol. Nearly 13 years later, as this front page puts it: “He has outdone him in seasons, titles, and goals.” fatal. Also in France, Benzema’s performance earned front-page honors L’Equipe: “Triplé d’or”. Since Wednesday, the precious metal has been regularly associated with the France international, who is currently considered by many as the favorites to win the top individual prize even if the season still has a long way to go.
This is the opinion of many English advisers such as Rio Ferdinand, the former Manchester United defender. The English media also unanimously welcomed the French “Imperial” demonstration, according to the Telegraph. The newspaper also carries an article on how Benzema got rid of the shadow of Cristiano Ronaldo since the departure of the Portuguese in 2018. This is also the case in the rest of Europe as in Italy where Benzema salutes his performance: “Benzema’s heroes”. “It’s Real Madrid,” the newspaper calls out.
Corriere dello Sport calls him “The Hurricane, the best striker in the world”, while Repubblica salutes “King Karim”. In a country where the old is popular, La Stampa pays homage to the “ageless Forecourt”. “Big Benzema” finally ignited the German newspaper Sport Bild.
