Best in the world in 2022?

Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah, Robert Lewandowski and Mbappe are among the most lethal forwards in the world currently, and while they have all enjoyed red-hot goalscoring form this season, none of them have had the influence Benzema has had on the biggest stages of European football. At the moment, Real lead LaLiga by 15 points thanks to 25 goals in 28 games by the 34- yearold striker, who has also racked up 11 assists in the league, but it has been his big-match performances in the Champions League that make him the favourite for

the 2022 Ballon d’Or prize. It was announced by France Football, the organisers of the award, in March that the prestigious accolade will now run in line with the European season and

that collective trophies are no longer a key factor in deciding who the award should be handed to. The criteria will therefore be clarified, with individual performances given more notability.

And, when it comes to individual performance in the 2021/22 season, Benzema is arguably already leading the way after his consecutive hat-tricks against Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea in the knockout rounds in Europe over the past month-and-ahalf. The triple he scored against PSG remarkably came in just 17 minutes as he single-handedly turned the Round of 16 tie on its head when it appeared Mbappe, Messi and Neymar were on the cusp of something special. Then, less than a month later, he scored three times in Real’s 3-1 victory over Thomas Tuchel’s reigning champions in the first leg of their quarter-final tie at Stamford Bridge, a hat-trick that included two jaw-dropping headers so good that even Chelsea fans found looking for an explanation pointless. Benzema was at it again in the return leg, this time scoring a goal with yet another headed effort, to send the Spanish giants to the semi-final stage

of the competition. ❐