Benzema wins the Ballon d’Or

Photo: REUTERS / Benoit Tessier

Real Madrid’s striker Karim Benzema won the biggest individual award in football – the Ballon d’Or, which is awarded to the best football player in the world in the selection of the French magazine France Football.

The brilliant Frenchman led his team to the Champions League and La Liga titles, so he had no real competition this year. As the captain of Los Blancos, he scored 44 goals with 15 assists in 46 games in all competitions, and received the trophy from the hands of the legendary Zinedine Zidane.

“It’s a boy’s dream. I think all footballers have that in their head,” said Karim Benzema, who was joined on stage by his father and mother, and his son Ibrahim.

Unlike previous years, the prestigious trophy this time was awarded based on performance throughout the season, rather than a calendar year as was previously the case. The collective aspect and the trophies won were in the background, in favor of individual performances.

This time there was also a tighter number of voters who would still be made up of journalists, with one voter per nation, but the jury included only 100 men’s Ballon d’Or voters (compared to the previous 170), corresponding to the top 100 placed nations in the FiFA rankings and 50 for the Women’s Ballon d’Or in the same way.

Real Madrid 3 – 1 Barcelona

Photo: David Ramos / Getty Images

Real Madrid beat Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in the ninth round of La Liga with a score of 3 – 1, and with their triumph in this El Clasico, they also took first place from their great rival. The Kings also inflicted the first defeat on the Catalans this season.

Los Blancos took the lead in the 12th minute. Vinicus broke through the left side and sent a shot that was defended by Ter Stegen, after which the ball bounced towards the center of the penalty area where Benzema scored for 1 – 0.

Barcelona came close to equalizing in the 26th minute after Lewandowski missed a decent chance, and very quickly Real doubled their lead. After a long action, Mendy passed the ball to Valverde, who hit the bottom right corner of Ter Stegen’s goal with a great shot. 2 – 0 was the result of the first half.

The only excitement in the early stages of the second half was Benzema’s goal which ended up being disallowed because of an offside position, as then there was a period of play marked by substitutions without any major opportunities on either side.

Seven minutes before the end of the match, Barcelona managed to score after Ferran Torres scored a goal from close range. This was followed by violent attacks by Barcelona in the hope of scoring an equalizing goal, but they could not find their way into the home team’s net. On the other hand, Rodrygo made the final 3 – 1 for the Madrid club from the penalty spot in the first minute of stoppage time.

With tonight’s triumph, Real overtook Barcelona and took first place with three points more than their great rival. In the next round, Real will visit Elche, while Barcelona will welcome Villarreal.

Real Madrid 1 – 1 Osasuna

Photo: Reuters

Real Madrid drew against Osasuna in the 7th round of the Spanish La Liga at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium with the score being 1:1. This was their first setback this season and the first meeting in which they did not achieve a victory.

Madrid opened the match better and could have taken the lead already in the 6th minute, but Tchouameni’s shot was blocked. Osasuna retaliated in the 34th minute through Abde, but his shot went wide of the goal, and then Benzema, who was not accurate in the 38th minute, missed a great chance for the Royal Club.

However, in the 42nd minute, Real took the lead, and the scorer was none other than Vinicius Junior. That was also the final result of the first half.

In the fifth minute of the second half, more precisely in the 50th minute, Osasuna equalized. Garcia was the scorer and he brought things back to the beginning, as Benzema had the best chance for the Los Blancos to win in the 79th minute when he missed a penalty. He shot powerfully towards the middle of the goal, but the ball hit the crossbar and thus ruined the last chance for his team. Although Real had more players, they did not manage to get three points until the end.

Real Madrid went without a win for the first time this season and now they have six wins and one draw, the same score as Barcelona, who are now first in the table due to better goal difference. On the other hand, Osasuna remained in an excellent sixth position with 13 points won.

Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup!

Photo: Hassan Ammar / AP Photo / Associated Press

Real Madrid won the Spanish Super Cup with a 2-0 victory in Jeddah in the final match against Athletic Bilbao.

In the 38th minute, Luka Modric took advantage of a great breakthrough on the right side and the assist of Rodrygo, as he masterfully scored from the edge of the penalty area for 1-0. Karim Benzema increased the lead to 2-0, as he successfully realized the penalty that was awarded after Judge Grado reviewed the VAR video.

Athletic had a numerical advantage in the very finish of the match when Eder Militao received a red card after his hand in front of the goal stopped Raul Garcia’s shot. The Basques had a chance to reduce the lead to 2-1 in the 89th minute and try to equalize in the remaining few minutes, but Thibaut Courtois stopped Garcia’s shot from the penalty spot with his foot and in the end it was 2-0 for Real.

Recall, Real beat Barcelona 3-2 in the semifinals, while Athletic was better than Atletico Madrid (2-1). This is Real’s 12th trophy of the winner of the Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona 2-3 Real Madrid

Photo: Ahmed Yosri / Reuters

Real Madrid advanced to the finals of the Spanish Super Cup after beating Barcelona in El Clasico last night in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) with the result being 3-2 after extra time.

From the beginning of the game, the forces on the field were quite even and both teams missed several good opportunities in an interesting first half. However, Real managed to use one of them in the 25th minute after a big mistake by the Catalans, and the scorer was Vinicius Junior for 1-0. However, four minutes before the break, Barcelona equalized again after a mistake, this time by Militao. The scorer was De Jong, and the result after the first 45 minutes was 1-1.

We watched identical football in the continuation of the match, and such a game was more suitable for Real, which took a new lead in the 72nd minute. It was a long attack by Real, and in the end in the right place at the right time was the elusive Benzema who put the ball into the net for the great celebration of his team. Barcelona tried to reach a new equalizer by the end of the match, and they succeeded in that seven minutes before the end of the match, when Fati scored for 2-2.

Overtime was then played, and at the very opening, Real secured their third lead tonight. It was a great counter-attack by Los Blancos, as Barca’s defense fell apart and, after Rodrygo’s assist, Valverde put the ball into the net. Barca failed to return to the game for the third time, so the Madrid club won another El Clasico.

Real Madrid will play in the final of the Spanish Super Cup against the better side from the duel between Atletico Madrid and Athletico Bilbao. This match will be played tonight.