(Football news) Real Madrid defeated fellow title contenders Real Sociedad 2-0 away from home. The victory took Los Blancos 8 points clear at the top of the La Liga table after 16 games. The big moment of the game came in the 17th minute where Karim Benzema signalled to the dugout that he wouldn't be able to continue. Carlo Ancelotti has confirmed that the Frenchman will definitely miss the game against Inter Milan on Wednesday. The extent of his injury is yet to be assessed.
Real Madrid have already secured their spot in the UCL Round of 16 but a top spot is still up for grabs with the side hosting Atlético Madrid on Sunday. Benzema is likely to miss the two games giving Ancelotti a big headache but the situation eased a bit after Luka Jovic's performance against La Real. The Serbian scored one and assisted another after coming on for the injured Benzema.
Jovic is the obvious choice to replace Benzema. Since his big money move from Eintracht Frankfurt, Jovic has found life in Madrid very difficult. Having someone like Benzema as the club's main striker is never easy. In the little opportunities Jovic has had he has failed to capitalise. His goal at Anoeta was only his 3rd overall and his 1st since 9th February 2020 for Los Blancos. His two goal involvements should be enough to secure his place in the side during Benzema's absence
Mariano Diaz is another option who Ancelotti could go with. There have been times when Mariano has been preferred over Jovic by Zinedine Zidane and even by Ancelotti once. Mariano has pace and pure explosiveness that Jovic doesn't have but the Serbian is a pure target man whose decision making and finishing is way better than Mariano.
There is an outside chance that Ancelotti plays a false 9. Vinicius Jr will definitely play at the left. Ancelotti could deploy one of Marco Asensio, Rodrygo Goes and Eden Hazard through the middle. All three players are certainly capable of playing in that position. Benzema naturally plays more like a false 9 anyways which might tempt Ancelotti to not start with Jovic or Mariano instead of changing the system.
The problem will be solved if Benzema becomes available for the Madrid derby which according to reports will be a last minute call. Ancelotti wouldn't be too keen on risking a serious injury to Benzema whose workload is already more than previous seasons due to his return to international football with France.
