Karim Benzema's Madrid struggles on full show in draw with Tottenham
The French forward has scored just twice in eight appearances this season
It has taken him 10 shots on average to score just a single goal
Last season was the second worst in terms of goal scoring numbers for Karim Benzema since he joined Real Madrid and the current campaign suggests more struggles lie ahead. Benzema has scored just twice in his eight appearances this season, numbers which are not good enough for a striker.
The latest example that he's not in form came on Tuesday against Tottenham in the Champions League. Benzema missed a number of chances, above all a headed chance, which was saved by his compatriot Hugo Lloris. He also missed a rebound after Cristiano Ronaldo had hit the post. The fans at the Santiago Bernabeu are getting more and more desperate with their player.
His goals this season came in the second leg fo the Spanish Super Cup against Barça, which was basically a friendly, and he then opened the scoring at Getafe last weekend -- his first league goal of the campaign. His one assist came against Deportivo La Coruna, for Gareth Bale.
Benzema has only played eight games this season due to injury problems.
MORE TO LESS
If we look at Benzema's statistics since he joined Madrid, it's easy to see that he's in his worst form, but his decline is not new, it began last season.
The French forward was only 21 when he moved to Madrid and in his first season he scored nine times in 33 games. But the next season he scored 26 times (and gave nine assists) and kept a similar average until last season, when he fell below 20 goals, scoring just 19 in 48 appearances.
In total, Benzema has played 372 games for Madrid and has scored 182 goals, providing 104 assists. It's an average of almost a goal every other game (0.49 goals per game) and a born goalscorer like Gary Lineker criticised his showing against Tottenham:
Is it me or is Benzema a tad overrated? A goal every other game in a team as strong as Real Madrid is nada especial. Decent not great.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) 17 de octubre de 2017
Decent, not great. That's how Lineker described Benzema, whose scoring form for Madrid is shown below:
| Season | Games | Goals | Assists |
| 2017-2018 | 8 | 2 | 1 |
| 2016-2017 | 48 | 19 | 9 |
| 2015-2016 | 36 | 28 | 8 |
| 2014-2015 | 46 | 22 | 15 |
| 2013-2014 | 52 | 24 | 16 |
| 2012-2013 | 50 | 21 | 21 |
| 2011-2012 | 52 | 32 | 19 |
| 2010-2009 | 48 | 26 | 9 |
| 2009-2010 | 33 | 9 | 6 |
| TOTAL | 372 | 182 | 104 |
EFFICIENCY
What catches the attention most is his lack of efficiency in front of goal -- he needs 10 shots to score a goal. That's to say, he's had 20 shots this season for his two goals, an unusually high amount of shots for that many goals from a box' player. Despite everything, Zinedine Zidane has blind faith in his compatriot and continues to play him despite a lack of patience in the stands.
