Benzema races to 200 La Liga goals: Decoding the numbers
Real Madrid veteran Karim Benzema continued his solid start to the season to help his side win against Mallorca in La Liga. Benzema netted a brace and Marco Asensio smashed a hat-trick as Real thrashed Mallorca 6-1. The win helped Real move to the top of the league standings as Benzema raced to 200 La Liga goals. Here we decode the numbers.
Benzema becomes 10th player to net 200 La Liga goals
Playing his 389th La Liga match, Benzema has 200 goals under his belt with the double against Mallorca. He has become the 10th player to reach 200 goals in La Liga. He is also the fourth player in Real Madrid's history to net 200-plus goals in La Liga after Alfredo Di Stefano (216), Raul (228), and Cristiano Ronaldo (311).
Benzema makes a historic start
Benzema has made a flying start this season. He has now been involved in 15 La Liga goals (six matches). He has eight goals and seven assists already. As per Opta, this is the best start in goal involvement of any player after the first six league games of the campaign in the 21st century.
Benzema has scored or assisted in all six league games
Benzema has raced to 287 goals for Real Madrid, having played 566 matches. He is closing in on Santillana (290) to become Real's fourth-highest goal-scorer. Against Mallorca, Benzema made two assists as well. He has now either scored or assisted in each of his first six La Liga games this season. He has the most league goals in Europe's top five divisions this season.
Records scripted by Real Madrid
Real have netted 21 goals in six La Liga games this season. As per Opta, this is their best total at this stage since the 1987-1988 season (26 goals). Meanwhile, Asensio is the sixth Spanish player to score a hat-trick for Real in La Liga in the 21st century. He is also the first since Alvaro Morata against Leganes in April 2017.
Real sit at the top of La Liga
Real maintained their unbeaten start to the 2021-22 La Liga season (W5 D1). They are sitting at the top with 16 points and are above second-placed Atletico Madrid (14). Meanwhile, Barcelona are eighth (8 points), having played four games.
