For young football fans, Karim Benzema was always scoring goals. But if he go back in time, there was one period when the Al-Ittihad forward was in crisis. He wasn’t playing bad, he just didn’t scored so much goals as his coach would like. First it was Manuel Pellegrini and then Jose Mourinho. Both man prefered Higuain over Benzema, but after a private conversation with the Portuguese coach, the French striker started to score and never looked back. Benzema scored 78 goals and provided 49 assists under Mourinho in 150 games. He played better only under Carlo Ancelotti (121 goals in 187 games) and Zinedine Zidane (108 goals in 217 games). But still, under Mourinho he had the best goal ratio during his career in Real Madrid with more than 100 games: one goal every 116 minutes. So, what happened.🇫🇷 Benzema stats by season at Real Madrid:09/10: 9G, 6A10/11: 26G, 9A11/12: 32G, 19A12/13: 20G, 21 A13/14: 24G, 16A14/15: 22G, 15A15/16: 28G, 8A16/17: 19G, 8A17/18: 12G, 11A18/19: 30G, 11A19/20: 27G, 11A20/21: 30G, 9A21/22: 44G, 15A22/23*: 29G, 6AConsistency! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dFO2eDy61v— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) May 7, 2023 Former Mourinho’s assistant in Real José Morais remembers the private conversation which changed everything.”Benzema was a player who was very loved by both the fans and president Florentino Pérez, but he wasn’t scoring many goals“ Morais told ESPN.com.br. So, a private meeting was organized between the player and the coach, and Morais remembers how the conversation went:Mourinho: ‘You have to score goals, right?’Benzema: ‘Does Mister want me to score goals?’Mourinho: ‘Of course I want you to score goals. What are you here for? To score goals, you’re a striker!”.Benzema: “So, okay. If you want me to score goals, I’ll do it” Morais remembers.’You are lazy’: Details of the spat between Benzema and Santo revealedAnd true to his word, the Frenchman started firying from all angles and positions.”He was a great player, but he wasn’t really aware of what was being asked of him. His mission was just to score goals. He was there to play, but scoring goals was something secondary. He has a lot of quality in his touch of the ball, in his simplicity as dribbling and vision of the game. He created situations and then handed the ball over to others to score goals. After that moment, he became aware of what the coach wanted. And that’s how it started, with that simplicity” said José Morais. The Portuguese is now the coach of Iran’s Sepahan S.C. and had a chance to meat his former player when his team and Al-Ittihad, where Benzema plays now, met in the AFC Champions League yesterday, but the Frenchman was injured and didn’t play.ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 15Tuesday22:30: (1.90) Wolverhampton (3.60) Burnley (4.50)23:15: (15.0) Luton (7.25) Arsenal (1.22)Wednesday22:30: (1.95) Brighton (3.50) Brentford (3.90)22:30: (2.05) Fulham (3.50) Nott.Forest (4.00)22:30: (12.0) Sheffield Utd (7.25) Liverpool (1.20)22:30: (2.30) Crystal Palace (3.35) Bournemouth (3.15)23:15: (4.40) Aston Villa (3.70) Man.City (1.80)23:15: (2.95) Man.Utd. (3.50) Chelsea (2.50)Thursday22:30: (3.15) Everton (3.45) Newcastle (2.40)23:15: (1.80) Tottenham (3.90) West Ham (4.70)***odds are subject to change***
