A striker’s goalscoring form comes in all shapes and sizes – and from one week to the next, with the majority of the sport’s goalscorers-in-chief, fans are not sure whether they are going to get a flurry of goals or mere struggles in the final third.
As is the difficult nature of being a striker at the top level, the perfect embodiment of that is former Liverpool target man Christian Benteke, who is now scoring goals as if they are going out of fashion for Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit DC United.
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The imposing Belgian scored just 10 in the famous strip of the Merseysiders – one being an acrobatic moment of magic against fierce rivals Manchester United – and was shipped off to fellow Premier League side Crystal Palace after just one campaign.
Benteke’s Goalscoring Remontada in the MLS
Striker now outscoring Inter Miami ace Lionel Messi
But were Jurgen Klopp and his entourage right to part ways with the large-statured centre forward in the summer of 2016? His numbers in the MLS with DC United would, perhaps, suggest so.
Born in Kinshasa, the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Benteke began his career in Belgium for top flight outfit Standard Liege and was a key cog in their 2008/09 Belgian First Division triumph.
When Benteke packed up his bags and headed to sunny Washington DC in the summer of 2022, signed by then-manager Wayne Rooney, many assumed that he was heading into the twilight period of his career with not many years left.
Benteke had other ideas. Once an out-of-sorts presence at Anfield, the Belgian international, capped on 45 occasions, began firing on all cylinders and has chalked up – across his 74-game stint at his current employers – 40 goals and eight assists.
Although ex-Crystal Palace man’s side were unable to make it past the regular season because of their ponderous tenth-placed finish in the Eastern Conference, one thing cannot go understated: the marksman’s potency.
He scored 23 goals altogether – three more than Lionel Messi, one of the greatest footballers of all time, his Inter Miami teammate Luis Suarez and Los Angeles FC’s Denis Bouanga as he was issued the MLS Golden Boot in the most recent campaign.
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The striker, one of Aston Villa’s top goalscorers in Premier League history, remains laser-focused. Having signed on at DC for another year, the veteran goal-getter is determined to continuing his success by remaining in the best shape possible when the next campaign gets underway in February 2025. He told BBC Sport:
“Messi and Ronaldo are four or five years older than me and they still play, so who are we not to push ourselves?
“It’s not luck. It’s hard work. They look after their bodies, which is something we can all do. We might not have their qualities or everything they have but as a high-elite athlete, we can all look after our bodies.”
Inside Benteke’s Tumultuous Stint at Liverpool
Belgian enjoyed more success in England for Aston Villa
It was initially Tim Sherwood’s Aston Villa who spotted his talismanic nature from afar, with them splashing the cash just after he spent one season with Belgian side Genk, whom he plundered 21 goals and 12 assists for in 51 outings.
A couple of hat-trick-inspired showings and a Premier League Player of the Month gong only added to the interest shown by his eventual employers, Liverpool, a club he would go on to play a mere 42 games for.
In 2015, the Reds forked out £32.5 million, just a few million shy of what they spent on Mohamed Salah, for Benteke’s prowess in front of goal, which made him the club’s second-most expensive buy at that time – a record that has since been smashed out of the park.
Then-boss Klopp, whose squad also boasted a deadly – yet injury-prone – Daniel Sturridge, turned to Roberto Firmino after deciding Benteke was not suited to his style. The likes of the aforementioned Salah and Sadio Mane followed and, well, the rest is history.
Interestingly, the one-time Belgian champion enjoyed a relatively sparkling start to life on Merseyside as he scored the winner on his home debut against Bournemouth, while he also netted twice inside his opening six games after establishing himself as the go-to man at the top of the tree under Brendan Rodgers.
|
Christian Benteke – Career Statistics |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Club/Country |
Games |
Goals |
Assists |
Yellow/Red Cards |
|
Crystal Palace |
177 |
37 |
11 |
27/2 |
|
Aston Villa |
101 |
49 |
12 |
13/2 |
|
DC United |
74 |
40 |
8 |
19/1 |
|
KRC Genk |
51 |
21 |
12 |
1/1 |
|
Belgium |
45 |
18 |
7 |
1/0 |
|
Liverpool |
42 |
10 |
6 |
3/0 |
|
KV Kortrijk |
37 |
16 |
9 |
4/0 |
|
Standard Liege |
25 |
3 |
3 |
1/0 |
|
KV Mechelen |
20 |
7 |
1 |
1/2 |
An injury then struck and that, combined with Klopp’s arrival in the Anfield dugout, saw him become more of a squad option than first choice forward. Despite proving to be a certified starter under the aforementioned Rodgers, starting all six of those opening games under the Northern Irishman, only three times did he manage back-to-back starts under Klopp. Now 34 years of age and enjoying life in the United States, he’s enjoying a remontada for the ages.
All statistics per Transfermarkt – correct as of 03/12/24
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