Karim Benzema will not be able to play against the Barcelona team in the Clasico on the American tour.
The situation
The Las Vegas Classic , which will be played in the early morning of the 24th at the Allegiant Stadium (all 65,000 tickets are already sold out), will not be able to count on the presence of the sure winner of the 2022 Ballon d’Or: Karim Benzema . This notable absence for the duel between Ancelotti and Xavi Hernández’s teams is due to the Italian’s decision, agreed with the player, to give him a few more days of rest after a season in which Karim suffered brutal wear, playing 46 games at his 34 years, with an exceptional performance: 44 goals and 17 assists. Ancelotti and Benzema spoke during the Frenchman’s vacation and, since Karim loves to spend part of his days off in the United States,agreed that he join the European champion’s concentration directly on the 19th at the hotel in Los Angeles where they will stay when they land on US soil, where they will remain until July 31 once the game with Juventus has been played in Los Angeles (four days before they will have been measured to the America of Mexico in San Francisco). As Benzema will arrive at the concentration camp on the 19th, he will only have three training sessions (20th, 21st and 22nd) before the Las Vegas Classic, so Ancelotti will not give him minutes in said match as it is an unnecessary risk of injury with such little filming. This important loss of the white team will give Borja Mayoral the opportunity to show that Ancelotti’s commitment to him as the first alternative nine is the right one. It could also be the first day that Carlo tests Hazard in that position, as the Italian has confirmed in statements to the Mexican media to talk about América-Real Madrid on the 27th. Curiously, Karim was also unable to face Barça in the Clásico on March 20, due to a muscle injury (injury in his left thigh) that kept him in doubt until the last minute and finally forced him to be ruled out.
The details
The whites suffered a lot from the absence of their killer, Ancelotti’s experiment of putting Modric as a false 9 failed and the azulgrana took advantage to give the leader a corrective. Well, Benzema won’t be able to play in this Clásico either, although in this case the absence is unimportant as it is a pre-season friendly. Of course, for the Frenchman it is a shame because Barça is quite good at it, given that he has scored 11 goals and has given 10 assists in his different Clásicos. At least he will be able to take revenge on October 15 or 16 at the Bernabéu, the date on which the first Clásico of the 2022-23 League will be played. That match will be played just 24 or 48 hours before the Ballon d’Or Gala, to be held in Paris on Monday, October 17, in which Karim will receive his first Ballon d’Or of his career.