When the young Vinicius was still in Rio de Janeiro, one of his favorite players was Benzema. The Brazilian teenager admires the French striker's ability to organise and score goals. Now, one of Benzema's favorite team-mates is also Vinicius, who have been the best strike partner this season not only in Spain, but also in europe as a whole.
Looking at Europe's top five leagues, Vinicius and Benzema scored the most league goals, with a total of 21. The Brazilian scored 9 of them and the French scored 12. In the Premier League, Liverpool's Salah and Jota have also scored 21 league goals so far, but in terms of assists, they have not been able to surpass the 10 assists provided by the Real Madrid strikers.
After 15 rounds of La Liga this season, Benzema topped the top scorers list with 12 goals, while his 21-year-old striker partner was second with nine goals. The first time Real Madrid had two of the league's top scorers was before the birth of both players, when Hugo Sanchez and Jorge Baldano were first and second respectively in the 1985/86 season. But the benzema and Vinicius pair are expected to recreate the feat for Real Madrid.
Their goals currently give Real Madrid a seven-point lead in La Liga, while the Nos. 9 and No. 20 have also helped the Whites advance to the Champions League knockout stages. In the Champions League, Benzema and Vinicius scored five and two goals respectively, which means that they have contributed 28 goals this season. Real Madrid's total of 47 goals this season means that 60% of the team's goals are scored by the striker pair.
These two players always have a special chemistry on the pitch. When Vinicius first came to the Bernabeu in 2018, benzema, as a veteran, always took him with him in training and competitions to communicate, always reminding the rising star of where he stood on the field.
Such patient guidance soon paid off, with Vinicius assisting Benzema in their third game to help the team beat Girona 4-2 in the Copa del Rey. Since then, the former flamenco winger has scored another 10 goals for Benzema, half of which were assisted in a fantastic start to the campaign.
Even when there is no direct assist to each other, they will cooperate with each other. In the last round of the 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao, it was precisely because Vinicius's Neche finally helped Benzema score his 12th league goal of the season.
Even in the most difficult moments, the veteran will do his best to help his young teammates. The Madrid derby for the 2018/19 season was Vinicius' derby debut and when Atletico scored a goal after Vinicius lost the ball, Benzema immediately walked up to the rising star and said they should swap positions for a while so the Brazilian teenager wouldn't face the same difficulties and help him quickly regain his composure and confidence. Vinicius later commented: "It really works".
From day one with Real Madrid, Benzema has been the biggest helper to Vinicius, with the French striker even saying he wants to help the young striker as much as he can. Indeed, this brotherhood has helped them gain a lot, both on and off the pitch.
About La Liga
The Spanish professional football league LaLiga (La Liga) is a global, innovative and socially responsible sports league, as well as a leader in the field of leisure and entertainment. The league organizes the Spanish professional football leagues , La Liga and La Liga , with 20 La Liga clubs and 22 La Liga clubs , affecting more than 2.7 billion people worldwide in the 2019/20 season. Headquartered in Madrid, La Liga has 11 permanent offices and 46 foreign representatives in 55 countries and territories around the world. In 2014, La Liga opened an office in Shanghai, China. In 2020, La Liga, together with Mediapro and Xinying Sports, established a joint venture company SFCM, which continues to make efforts in the field of sponsorship and brand licensing. At the same time, the league is actively involved in social activities through its fund LaLiga Genuine, which is the only professional football league in the world with a league of intellectually handicapped players.