A historic night for Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema in El Clásico

Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema (35) made history on Wednesday night, scoring a hat-trick in a 4-0 victory for Los Blancos against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey. 

Real Madrid headed into their semi-final second leg with a one-goal deficit, but that was quickly overturned. Vinícius Júnior levelled the tie at the end of the first half before a Benzema quickfire double early in the second half put the reigning European champions in control. The Frenchman then completed his hat trick in the 80th minute. 

In doing so, Benzema reached some historic milestones. No one in Europe’s top five leagues has more goals and assists than Benzema’s 22 in 2023. Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford (20) is closest to him. He is also joined by Rashford as the top scorer in Europe’s top five divisions since the turn of the calendar year (17). 

Only Lionel Messi (40) has been involved in more goals than Benzema (27) in competitive El Clásico fixtures. Benzema also became only the second player to score a hat-trick against Barcelona at the Nou Camp since Ferenc Puskas on 27th January 1963. Benzema, who retired from international football in the wake of the Qatar World Cup, also became the first Frenchman aged 35 or over, to score 25 goals in a season for a side in the top five European divisions. 

GFFN | Luke Entwistle