Key Takeaways
Benzema emerged as a star at Lyon, overcoming early struggles to become a key player.
His breakthrough season was 2007-08, leading Lyon's attack and earning top scorer honors.
Benzema's success at Lyon set the stage for his legendary career at Real Madrid.
When Real Madrid's greatest player in Cristiano Ronaldo left the club, the belief was that Los Blancos needed to sign an absolute megastar to replace their irreplaceable legend. Real Madrid responded to Ronaldo's departure with the signing of a then magnificent Eden Hazard and a young promising Luka Jovic. Both of them unfortunately failed at the club, and it was instead a surprising name that stepped up to fill the role of CR7 at Madrid. Karim Benzema, who was always seen as that unselfish striker who adapted his playing style for Ronaldo, took his game to a whole new level. Benzema became the new leader of Madrid, and his attacking brilliance saw Los Blancos win both La Liga and yet another Champions League crown after Ronaldo's departure. After 14 years at Madrid, Benzema started his new footballing chapter with Al-Ittihad in 2023.
This article will be looking at one of the earliest phases of Benzema's career, when the young Frenchmen climbed through the ranks at Lyon and eventually joined the biggest club in football.
A slow start to life at Lyon
Karim Benzema came through the Lyon youth academy, and he was finally called up by then manager Paul Le Guen during the break leading up to the second half of the season. Lyon was a dominant force in Ligue 1 at the time, with their team having notable stars like Michael Essien, Sylvain Wiltord, Florent Malouda and Eric Abidal. The Frenchmen made a few appearances as a substitute that season, as Lyon won their 4th consecutive league title.
Benzema began the 2005–06 season under the tutelage of new manager Gérard Houllier. He struggled for minutes under the new manager as well, especially due to competition from new signing Fred and Sylvain Wiltord. It was in December that year when Benzema had his moment with Lyon, as he scored on his Champions League debut for the club vs Rosenborg in a 2-1. This was followed by a good run of form for the French, as he scored a brace against Grenoble in the Coupe de France and also his first professional league goal against Ajaccio.
Eventual breakthrough
The 2006–07 season saw Benzema earn more playing time, and he seized the opportunity by scoring crucial goals for the club. Benzema started to score frequently for the club, and was also a regular in the team during the autumn campaign. However, a severe knee injury during November ruled him out for 3 months. Benzema returned by February 2007, but was only able to score a goal until the final league match of the season, Nantes. Lyon continued their dream run in the league during this phase, winning their 6th consecutive league title.
It was the 2007–08 season which became a turning point for Benzema's career at Lyon. The departure of stars Florent Malouda, John Carew, and Sylvain Wiltord meant that Benzema would now be leading the front-line for Lyon. Benzema went on take his increased responsibility with open arms, as he ended up scoring 31 goals in 51 games under new manager Alain Perrin. 20 of those came in Ligue 1, which made him league top scorer at the time.
Benzema's most memorable performance that season came again Manchester United in the Champions League, as he scored to help Lyon earn a 1-1 draw in the competition's knockout round first leg match. Lyon eventually ended up losing to United on aggregate, but Benzema's impressive performance even saw him receive praise from Sir Alex Ferguson.
Benzema ended the season on a high note, as received several awards including Ligue 1 Player of the Year and the 2008 Bravo Award which was given to the most outstanding young footballer in Europe. He also signed a contract extension with Lyon at this time, which made him one of the best paid players in France.
Final season
Benzema's final season saw him continue his brilliant form, but Lyon ultimately ended up losing the league title which they had won for 7 consecutive seasons to Bordeaux.The French still had a fine season individually, having scored 17 goals.
That was the end of Benzema at Lyon, as he eventually joined Real Madrid where he established himself as one of the greatest legends in the club's history.
Karim Benzema Lyon Stats
Appearances | Goals | Assists | Minutes Played | |
Overall | 148 | 66 | 27 | 9,959 |
Ligue 1 | 112 | 43 | 23 | - |
Must Read | Interesting facts about Karim Benzema