Madrid, Karim Benzema was on fire again in London last night, scoring a second Champions League hat-trick in as many games for Real Madrid, as he followed up his treble against Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) with another away to Chelsea.

The No.9 was unplayable again, and he put the European champions to the sword.

“I don’t like to play football to be the best in the world,” Benzema said after. “I play for nights like this.”

With a few months still to play before the Ballon d’Or is awarded, it’s going to be interesting to see if Benzema can finally win the prize, having deserved it previously. Only Robert Lewandwski (12) has more UEFA Champions League goals than him this season.

The headlines across Europe were focused today on the French forward.

The French L’Equipe newspaper, Italian La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper, and the German Bird newspaper ensured that he was on the front pages in France, Italy, and in Germany.

“Benzema is the best striker in the world,” said Thibaut Courtois, goalkeeper of Real Madrid. “He’s showing how high his level is. We score with him, he’s huge.”

The praise came from England too, with Rio Ferdinand having his say on BT Sport.

“When Cristiano Ronaldo was there, Benzema had the humility to be in the background because he knew what the team needed,” Ferdinand said.

“But now he’s come out of the shadows. He’s 34 and he’s the best No.9 in the world. He’s on another level.”

Fabio Capello, Italian coach compared him to Alfredo Di Stefano, saying that “those who know about football see a lot.

“He creates, scores, and is a leader on the pitch.”

Benzema is in incredible form of late, and he’s putting up numbers that resemble Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi’s best years this season.

He now has 37 goals in 36 games this season and has back-to-back UEFA Champions League hat-tricks as well. He forced Edouard Mendy, goalkeeper of Chelsea into an error last night to complete his treble, just as he had to score his first against Gianluigi Donnarumma and PSG weeks earlier, the Spanish MARCA newspaper reported.

Source: Oman News Agency