Benzema’s absence is a big loss for El Real

Mauricio Pochettino says Real Madrid defeat Barcelona”>Karim Benzema‘s absence against Paris Saint-Germain is a big loss for Real Madrid. Benzema is still injured hamsting.

The Champions League will resume next week with a round of 16 match. One of the most awaited matches in this round is the Paris Saint-Germain vs Real Madrid duel.

PSG will host Madrid at the Parc des Princes in the first leg match, Wednesday (16/2/2022) early morning WIB. Los Blancos threatened to appear without their flagship goal machine, Karim Benzema, in this match.

The French striker is still trying to recover from a hamstring injury. The injury made Benzema absent in El Real’s last two matches against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey and Granada in LaLiga.

PSG coach Mauricio Pochettino said that if Benzema was absent it would be a big loss for Madrid. This Argentinian coach knows very well how dangerous Benzema is.

Benzema is still Madrid’s mainstay on the front lines this season. The 34-year-old has scored 24 goals and nine assists in 28 appearances in all competitions for Los Blancos.

However, Pochettino said the absence of Benzema did not fully benefit PSG. The reason is, Madrid clearly has other players who can replace Benzema’s role well.

Madrid still have Luka Jovic on the front lines. Another option is to play Isco as false nine jif Benzema is absent later.

“If he wasn’t there, it would be a big loss for Madrid. He’s one of the best strikers in the world,” Pochettino said of Karim Benzema quoted by Sportmax.

“He’s a great player who shows his talent at a club like Real from year to year. However, I’m not saying that it will be an advantage for PSG because Real have very good squad depth,” he explained.

(pur/nds)