Real Madrid take on Chelsea in the Champions League this evening as the holders look to continue their defence of the trophy and progress to the last four.
The Spanish giants have an unmatched history in this competition and will be confident of again impacting the latter stages this time around, with Carlo Ancelotti’s side protecting a two-goal lead at Stamford Bridge.
Real Madrid have the firepower to challenge for European success this season and boast five players who have all reached 10+ goals in all competitions this season.
Here are the five Real Madrid players to have scored 10+ goals.
Marco Asensio – 10
Marco Asensio’s future at Real Madrid remains uncertain as the winger approaches the end of his contract with the Spanish side.
Asensio has struggled to command a regular role in Carlo Ancelotti’s frontline, but has proven to be a valuable contributor when called upon this season. The 27-year-old scored his side’s second goal in their first leg win over Chelsea last week, his tenth of the campaign in all competitions.
Marco Asensio makes it 2-0!! ????
Chelsea caught off guard as the European champions double their lead! ????#UCL pic.twitter.com/RARqLDxocX
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 12, 2023
It’s the second successive season that Asensio has reached 10+ goals in a season and the fourth time in his Real Madrid career. Impressively, his ten goals have come despite making just 13 starts in all competitions, with Asensio averaging a goal or assist every 83 minutes in La Liga and the Champions League this season.
It is the sort of productivity that will have clubs queuing up for his signature should he depart as a free agent at the season’s end. The current expectation however, is that Asensio will renew at the Bernabeu.
Rodrygo – 11
Rodrygo’s return of 11 goals this season is a career-best return for the Brazilian, who has built on an impressive campaign last term.
The 22-year-old was a crucial figure in Real Madrid’s run to Champions League success, as he scored five goals in Europe. Rodrygo’s haul included a wonderful volley to force extra-time against Chelsea in the quarter-finals and a dramatic late brace – scored between the 89th and 91st minute – in the semi-final win over Manchester City.
This season has been another productive campaign for Rodrygo, who has 17 goals and assists in 26 starts in La Liga and the Champions League.
Federico Valverde – 12
Carlo Ancelotti challenged Fede Valverde to score more goals earlier this season, insisting he would ‘give up coaching’ at the end of the season if the midfielder failed to reach 10 in all competitions.
It was a bold statement from Ancelotti given Valverde’s modest goal record before this season, one which saw the Uruguayan score just six goals across the previous four seasons combined.
Valverde has risen to the challenge however, producing career-best numbers and demonstrating just how effective he can be in the final third. Whether operating from a roving role on the right or as part of a midfield three, Valverde has driven forward into dangerous areas and developed a welcome habit of scoring stunning strikes.
FEDE VALVERDE!!! ????????
He simply cannot stop scoring screamers! ???????? pic.twitter.com/RmywkkvXZl
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) October 22, 2022
Vinicius Junior – 21
Carlo Ancelotti called Vinicius Junior ‘the best player in the world’ after the forward’s performances during Real Madrid’s Champions League last-16 win over Liverpool.
Vinicius was the difference maker across two legs, scoring twice and creating two more as the Spaniards progressed 6-2 on aggregate. Some of world football’s finest full-backs have struggled to cope with Vinicius across the past two seasons, a footballer whose explosive change of pace, immaculate control and unpredictability has tormented defenders.
???????? Vinícius Júnior wizardry ???? @vinijr || #UCL pic.twitter.com/4ziCtg8pD6
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) October 11, 2022
Last season he produced 22 goals and 20 assists for Real Madrid in all competitions, with the winger on course to beat those totals (21 goals and 16 assists) before the end of the current campaign.
Exceptional in tight areas and increasingly influential in the biggest games, the 22-year-old looks set to be one of world football’s leading names in the coming seasons.
Karim Benzema – 26
Karim Benzema remains the main man at Real Madrid, with the club’s timeless talisman in the goals once again this season.
Benzema’s best football has come in his thirties, culminating in a best-ever season in 2021/22 that saw the Frenchman score 44 goals and win La Liga, the Champions League and the Ballon d’Or.
Fitness issues have punctuated his season this time around, but Benzema has shown recent signs of the form that saw him coronated as the world’s finest footballer in 2022.
The last time Karim Benzema came to Stamford Bridge, this happened… ????#UCL pic.twitter.com/70neEXpeau
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 18, 2023
The 35-year-old scored a hat-trick against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals earlier this month and added another treble against Real Valladolid in La Liga. He has four goals in three Champions League knockout round appearances this season, taking his total to 14 in his last NINE knockout stage fixtures.
He has 14 goals in La Liga this season and is chasing down Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski in the race to win a second successive Pichichi Trophy.
Chelsea will be more than aware of the threat Benzema will pose this evening, after the Ballon d’Or winner scored a hat-trick at Stamford Bridge last season.
Read – Five of Chelsea’s greatest Champions League nights at Stamford Bridge
Read Also – Four talking points ahead of this week’s Champions League action
