After four failed matches with Al-Ittihad due to a muscle injury (which allowed him to go back and forth in France), Karim Benzema returned to training in Djeddah. He is ready. As his coach Laurent Blanc said at a press conference, the 2022 Ballon d'Or is determined to play the next match of Saudi Pro League. And for good reason, it is a shock at the top against Al-Nassr and his former teammate Cristiano Ronaldo.
Author of 21 goals last season to offer the title of champion to Al-Ittihad (and three achievements since the start of the exercise), “KB9” will find Kanté N'Golo in the eleven of Al-Ittihad, as well as Houssem Aouar, Steven Bergwijn and Moussa Diaby in the offensive sector.
The meeting between the two leaders in the ranking is scheduled for this Friday evening (kick -off 8 p.m. in France) and is broadcast live on the Youtube channel of Zack Nani (free therefore) as well as by Dazn (for subscribers).
Benzema-Ronaldo: 4-3
The formation of the capital Riyadh, led by Jorge Jesus and with Mohamed Simakan, Kingsley Coman, Sadio Mané and Joao Felix in addition to “CR7”, also won his first three championship matches (but also his first match of Champions League 2 and his meeting of King Cup on Tuesday evening).
Both arrived in the summer of 2009 at the Merengues, Benzema and Ronaldo won the Champions League together (2014, 2016, 2016, 2017 and 2018) four times, but were only twice until the departure of the Portuguese in 2018. The Lyonnais then won two other Liga, a 3rd King Cup and the 2022 Champions League, offering itself a few months later. As an adversaries, in club and in selection, Benzema has a small advantage with four nine victories, against three for the former Manchester United prodigy.
