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The two forwards go into the FC Barcelona game in great form, as the top scoring strike partnership of LaLiga Santander and as key leaders of the squad.
Karim Benzema refers to Vini Jr as his “little brother” in all of his photos of the duo on Instagram. They’re brothers on social media and an in-form strike partnership on the pitch. The French and Brazilian forwards provide Real Madrid with a foolproof front line for ElClasico, when Real Madrid host FC Barcelona this Sunday, as they’re in sync and working together beautifully.
This LaLiga Santander ElClasico is taking place on March 20th and Benzema arrives at this game having just become the third-top scorer in Real Madrid’s history. The 34-year-old Frenchman has managed to overtake Alfredo Di Stéfano and has now hit 311 goals, having come a long way since he netted his first in the white shirt in September 2009. The Lyon-born player now has another challenge, as he is just two goals away from equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s tally of goals scored in ElClasico matches in LaLiga Santander. The Frenchman has seven, while the Portuguese has nine, a figure he could reach in the 90 minutes of this weekend to continue adding to the success of a season in which he has already reached the club’s goalscoring podium. He has been a cornerstone of this team, so important that few can imagine how Real Madrid would function without him.
Vini Jr also knows what it’s like to be decisive in ElClasico against FC Barcelona, whether at home or on the road. The last time ElClasico took place at the Bernabéu, in March 2020, the Brazilian scored in the 71st minute to open the scoring in what proved to be a 2-0 win for Los Blancos. He has also been key away from his team’s stadium. In the match against Barça in the first half of this LaLiga Santander season, he played a key role, while he also scored the opening goal of the 3-2 after-extra-time win in the Spanish Super Cup ElClasico played in January of this year.
Benzema and Vini Jr have formed the strike partnership of the year. They give each other assists, they score goals, they win matches and they celebrate together. They did exactly that against RCD Mallorca on Monday, with Benzema playing the final pass for a Vini Jr goal and with the youngster then winning a penalty for the No.9 to score. The French and Brazilian forwards are perfectly in sync in their best campaign as a duo. Benzema is leading the way as the league’s top scorer and Vini Jr is second in that ranking, with 22 and 14 strikes each. As a duo, no other can match their numbers in LaLiga Santander, with only Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski and Serge Gnabry (39 league goals) bettering the Real Madrid pair across Europe’s other top leagues.
Vini Jr and Benzema will be Real Madrid’s two leading threats in attack as they aim to win a sixth ElClasico in a row this weekend. It is a decisive game for the team in what remains of the competition, while it could also be a big night these two players who want to add to their Real Madrid trophy collections.
