Karim Benzema, Real Madrid striker, spoke at length to L’Equipe on Tuesday on certain subjects such as Kylian Mbappé, PSG but also Olivier Giroud and the Ballon d’Or.
Kylian Mbappe
“With Mbappé, we get along well because we know what the other is going to do. For example, we both like to go to the left but we will never both be there at the same time: the other will come inside, or take the depth… (…) I like to play with him in selection and I would like to play with him in club. I think we would score double the goals. Or maybe even triple it!
PSG
“(…) Their strategy is Verratti, he does all the work. If you press him well, they switch to another strategy and it’s not the same. Paredes next to him will no longer be the same. Marquinhos and Kimpembe who want to play on Verratti won’t be the same either. So the secret against PSG is to press them. (…) And then when we scored (Real Madrid-PSG in the Champions League, editor’s note), they said to themselves that they had lost the match, when it was only 1-1… it happens to them often that, they let go mentally.
Olivier Giroud
“(…) Giroud, before it was a point of fixation, now he still has this quality but he can also come a little more into the game. You can rely on him but he needs crosses.”
The Golden Ball
“It’s a goal. Especially since last year I was not far away, but I hadn’t won a trophy (in club). There, I am having a very good season. The Ballon d’Or is a motivation, but not only personal. I include the team. Because if I manage to lead my team to win trophies, there will inevitably be individual rewards behind it.
His return to the France team
“For me, coming back after more than five years was an event. It’s a really striking thing, because I had never given up. Then I won a trophy and that’s really important to me. Now there’s a World Cup coming up and I have to try to do something big.”
The draw of the Blues at the World Cup
“There is no good draw. This draw is neither good nor bad. It will be the World Cup and the matches will all be difficult. It could have been harder on paper, yes, but with our status, all the matches against the supposed small nations will always be complicated.