MADRID – French striker Karim Benzema, who has struggled to hold down a first-team place at Real Madrid, says he did not try hard enough in the past to earn time on the pitch in an interview published Monday.
“I know when I play well and when I do it badly and if at any moment I have played less it is because I did not make enough of an effort to deserve it. Today I know that I make an effort and that is why I am playing,” he told sports daily AS.
“What is key is that I have recovered my speed, I can’t guarantee that I will score three goals in every match but I will do everything possible to score at least one,” he added. The 22-year-old former Lyon frontman,
who joined Real in July 2009 for 35 million euros, has enjoyed more playing time in recent weeks due to an injury to Real team-mate Gonzalo Higuain. He scored two hat-tricks last month, the first during Real’s 4-0 Champions League win over Auxerre on December 8 and the second during the club’s 8-0 thrashing of Levante in the King’s Cup 14 days later. Benzema has made 15 appearances for Real this season in La Liga, having started in just four.
Benzema admits to lack of ambition in the past
