Karim Benzema is good at it, and when you go through a zone of turbulence, that can sometimes help. Although he has been in turmoil for several days, after the Saudi press revealed his clash with his coach Nuno Espírito Santo, who was subsequently sacked by his management, the former French international knows how to keep a cool head. Obviously expected after this episode, the 2022 Ballon d’Or was able to react in the best possible way this Friday on the green rectangle.
Established during the meeting against Abha, club of the former Lyonnais Karl Toko Ekambi or the ex-Bordelais François Kamano, the 35-year-old striker distinguished himself by offering victory to his team thanks to a hat-trick (4-2). Just before the break (38th), it was he who opened the scoring from the penalty spot. Facing Tatarusanu, the native of Bron did not waver and deceived his counterpart with a masterful counterattack.
A fireworks display of goals in the second half
If Karl Toko Ekambi, sniffing out the bad dismissal of Al-Ittihad goalkeeper Grohe, equalized shortly after returning from the locker room (51st, 1-1) to score his 5th goal of the season, Karim Benzema will have decided the fate of the encounter. Following the equalizer, the former Real Madrid striker became a decisive passer. With a brilliant inspiration in roulette, he served in orbit Coronado who only had to conclude (54th, 2-1). And as the appetite comes with eating, Benzema hit the nail on the head ten minutes later. Cleverly found deep by Coronado after a mischievous call to circumvent offside, the Frenchman once again deceived Tatarusanu with a flat foot (67th, 3-1).
He sealed his team’s victory straight away by scoring a hat-trick. Served again by Coronado after a smooth transition, the native of Bron probably offered himself one of the least difficult goals of his career (69th, 4-1). A fantastic way to shatter a context that could initially seem tricky. If Jumayah reduced the gap at the end of the match (85th, 4-2), it was not enough to hope to leave with something from Jeddah. With this result, Al-Ittihad ends a series of 5 matches without a victory in the league, and jumps to 5th place. Abha, for her part, remains 13th.
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