Real Madrid won the European Super Cup on Wednesday evening at an apparent canter, beating Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 in Helsinki. David Alaba scored the first goal but it was the usual suspects Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema who combined for the second.
It was a night of celebration for Los Blancos, yet the underlying fear for many Madridistas as they go into the final stages of the transfer market is Benzema. The Frenchman stayed fit for the vast majority of last season, but should he get injured, many are questioning whether they have natural replacement in the squad.
Following their victory against Eintracht, President Florentino Perez was asked whether they needed any more signings.
“We have to continue training well, Ancelotti managing the squad, at this point we are not contemplating more [signings].”
Marca covered his answer and in the following question cut to the heart of the issue, asking whether a back-up for Benzema would not be of use.
“Look at all the forwards that we have, he will not constipate [himself in terms of goals] but if he does we have so many forwards that it won’t be noticed. Ballon d’Or? From my point of view he already deserved it last year and this year even more so.”
Both Perez and Ancelotti seem convinced they have enough depth to deal with a potential absence. Benzema has reached the point of such importance to Real Madrid that it echoes of when Cristiano Ronaldo or Lionel Messi were in their pomp in La Liga, but like both of them, the Frenchman appears to remain injury free even with his advancing years.
