Karim Benzema kickstarted his 2020 last night against Valencia.The Real Madrid striker was on fire in front of goal in 2019, but finding the back of the net had become quite a chore for the Frenchman this year - until now.Benzema was simply unplayable in Los Blancos' 3-0 win over Los Che, scoring two goals and establishing an almost telepathic understanding with Eden Hazard.The Belgian teed up Benzema for his opening goal of the game on the hour mark, before Marco Asensio made it two with his very first touch of the 2019/20 season.Asensio turned provider shortly after, but his assist was completely overshadowed by Benzema's brilliance in finding the back of the net.The former Lyon striker flicked the ball over a Valencia defender's head with his right, before volleying the ball directly into the top corner with his supposedly weaker left foot.Few players in world football could pull this off!
Coincidentally, Benzema's brilliance now puts him fifth on Real Madrid's all-time scorer list, above the legendary Ferenc Puskas.
Imagine overtaking the iconic Hungarian striker with a goal worthy of scooping the award named after him? Football is a funny ol' game sometimes.
Benzema now has 243 goals to his name in the famous white shirt and last night he also became only the third Real Madrid player to score 20+ goals in eight different seasons.
Raul Gonzalez and - of course - Cristiano Ronaldo are the only other players to do so.
Benzema now has 16 goals and six assists to his name in his 28 La Liga appearances in 2019/20 and the way he's accepted Real Madrid's goal scoring burden in the absence of Ronaldo has been admirable.
With the Frenchman now beginning to establish a very promising connection with Hazard and Asensio returning to the fold, things are looking very bright for Los Blancos in the post-Ronaldo era.