They say that football is a team game and no matter the stature of the individual stars that your opposition may have until they can play together as a team, it won’t count. Of course, it is also true that you will need far more than skills to make the aforementioned statement true. Also, you need a hero and that is Karim Benzema.
Even before the word in the streets spread that PSG is in town the hostile Madrid ultras were all set to give them a welcome that the French stalwarts won’t forget. With pyrotechnics blazing through the sky, a resounding display of the crackers and a unity forged in the streets and heaven alike, Real Madrid was definitely ready for the bombers of Paris.
The fable that would always sing paeans for Karim Benzema
The visitors had all the glistening firepower in the world and yet the unity of the fans was staggeringly overwhelming as that egged on the players on the field vociferously. The Ultras weren’t even allowed to enter the stadium and yet they managed to inject a shot in the arm of Los Blancos even before the opening whistle of the day blew.
Courtois’ early denial of Mbappe was a statement made in the boldest colours that said, “We don’t care about who you are.” Benzema’s thumping header that brought Donnarumma to the ground was a sentence penned with the most outrageous words that quoted, “You are in our yard.”
Carvajal’s booking was a quintessential display of the fact that “you try and venture into our yard, we will rattle your bones and ankles alike.”
They say that you need a bit of lady luck to pen the most historical openings of the turnaround and Donnarumma’s howler allowed Benzema to hammer back the equalizer of the night.
The French striker immediately pounced upon the opportunity that the Italian custodian handed him over. Modric’s herculean loyalty to the club was once again up for a blazing display as his picture-perfect through was slotted into the back of the net with clinical precision.
Two minutes later, the Spanish capital was basking, prancing, making merry in probably the best ever ways one could and Paris Saint-Germain was just handed their rear over a platter.
Ten minutes of intense tug-of-war followed and at the end of it, it was the glorious Madrid that prevailed over a star-studded PSG who had all the firepower in the world and yet went dank on the night where they needed to fire the most.
This hat-trick from Benzema is of symbolic importance to the fans of Madrid. They are currently fighting tooth and nail with the ever-gnarling visage of mediocrity chasing them hard. Barring the million-dollar facilities, they need a leader more than ever and who better than the man who has been leading their attacking unit for more than a decade now.
Karim Benzema is not just a player for Real. He is an unreal emotion for the Madridistas and the glowing flare that Batman ushered Gotham with, in the face of a deluge. He is the starlight of Madrid’s salvation as Poets of the Fall would put it. Most importantly, he is now the spirits of the preceding Madrid heroes, may it be de Stefano or Perez himself.
