Real Madrid face early crisis with Benzema out injured

Real Madrid CF may already be regretting the decision not to pursue a new forward signing after the breakdown of deals to acquire Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland. Manager Carlo Ancelotti has been confident that Karim Benzema has enough cover, but fans are now worried after the French number 9 suffered a knee injury in the opening game of their UEFA Champions League campaign.

On Tuesday evening, Los Blancos kicked off their Champions League title defence with their first group stage match against Celtic. Unfortunately, Benzema had to be forced off in the middle of the first half after feeling discomfort on his right knee.

Eden Hazard was brought in, and subsequently scored his first goal for the club since 2020. He was also instrumental in setting up the goal for Vinicius Junior. Luka Modric inherited the captain's armband after Benzema left the pitch, and also contributed a goal in the 3-0 victory.

Ancelotti downplayed the injury while speaking to the media after the match. "It doesn't seem worrying. We'll have to wait tomorrow for tests," he said, adding that "the first evaluation doesn't seem very serious, but we'll have to wait for tomorrow."

Ancelotti relied heavily on Benzema on their way to three major trophies last season. It is a worrying sign that he is injured this early in the campaign, but the victory against Celtic will give the rest of the squad some confidence that they can achieve great results even without Benzema.

"We'll see, I hope it isn't serious. If it is, there are other players who can come in," said goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, as quoted by Marca.

Indeed, Vinicius Junior continues to be a force to be reckoned with up front. Modric, Rodrygo Goes and Fede Valverde have also stepped up in recent games. Marco Asensio may also be able to get the minutes that he has been pushing for.

Hazard, meanwhile, finally got his chance to kick off the season on a high note, after his emotional declaration to the Madrid faithful that he is still determined to show that he deserves to wear the famed white shirt. He delivered the promise to fans on top of the team bus at Cibeles at the end of last season, as he grabbed the mic in the middle of the squad's trophy celebrations.

"I thought this was a game for Eden. His position, a bit deeper, could help us... He was clinical, we scored the second thanks to him and he was in the box to score the third. A perfect game for him," said Ancelotti.

Midfielder Toni Kroos also backed his Belgian teammate, saying that there was never a question of quality. He hopes that in Benzema's absence, Hazard can carry on doing as well as he did in Celtic Park.

Real Madrid are unbeaten so far this season across all competitions. They will be hoping to get Benzema back to full fitness as soon as possible, as they embark on a gruelling campaign to defend their titles. They were clearly miserable last season every time Benzema was unavailable, and fans are hoping that Ancelotti has already found a way around the problem in case the Frenchman gets sidelined for longer than expected.