The striker emerged from the bench to net the winner for his side against Ludogorets after Cristiano Ronaldo missed one penalty and scored another to tie it up
Karim Benzema has downplayed his contribution to Real Madrid’s 2-1 win over Ludogorets, despite scoring the winning goal in Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
The France striker was left out of the starting XI for the Spanish side’s clash with the Bulgarian club as Javier Hernandez was preferred by coach Carlo Ancelotti.
Ludogorets took an early lead and Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty shortly after but did not pass up his second chance to level the score after 24 minutes with another spot kick.
Benzema then emerged from the bench to make the difference when he buried a 77th-minute winner to make it two Champions League wins in a row for Ancelotti’s side.
The Frenchman spoke of his delight in the European champions’ ability to take all three points from the clash as they go three points above Liverpool and Basel in Group B.
He told Canal+: “Scoring goals is important for every striker but what matters to me is playing for the team. The important thing was a win. The fans want me to score a lot of goals but I’m happy with what I give for the team.
“I have great confidence in myself and when I went on I gave my all.
“It was a very difficult game against a very difficult opponent. We have to learn many things. But most important are the three points.”