Rio Ferdinand has tipped Karim Benzema for Ballon d’Or glory after the Real Madrid striker netted a devastating hat-trick against Chelsea.
The Frenchman netted a stunning treble for Carlo Ancelotti’s side at Stamford Bridge to give them a commanding 3-1 first leg advantage in their Champions League quarter-final tie. The treble came just weeks after Benzema bagged another staggering hat-trick to oust Paris Saint-Germain in the Round of 16.
Benzema ranked fourth in last year's Ballon d'Or rankings – agonisingly missing out on a podium finish. Lionel Messi won that award with Robert Lewandowski and Jorginho ranking ahead of the Real Madrid frontman to secure top three finishes in a closely fought vote between the world’s greatest players.
Ferdinand has now spoken about Benzema's status ahead of next year's awards – claiming that his exploits in this season's Champions League to date should be sufficient for him to win his first ever Ballon d'Or crown. Benzema has been in devastating form this campaign, netting an astonishing 37 goals in 36 appearances for Los Blancos – including 11 goals in just eight Champions League outings.
Speaking to BT Sport after the match, Ferdinand said: "Karim Benzema. If they’re not engraving his name on the Ballon d’Or I’ll be surprised. He’s been magic. Last tie, he was magnificent and grabbed a hat-trick. Tonight he’s done the same and got another hat-trick. This man made the difference, yes, they got their tactics right with Vinicius out on the right and pinning Christensen back. But, he put the chances away as they came and dispatched them beautifully. What a masterclass."
The former Manchester United defender also gave praise to the way Ancelotti set his Real Madrid side up for the victory. He lauded the Italian for how he set up his attackers to ensure that Benzema and forward partner Vinicius Junior caused havoc to the Blues defence.
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Ferdinand continued: "Ancelotti deserves credit for the set-up. It wasn’t an accident that Benzema was doing that, it ended up with Christensen coming off because he had that much of a torrid time against Benzema and Vinicius out there. Tactically, first half, Madrid were great. Tuchel sured it up in the second half but it wasn’t enough."
Chelsea now have it all to do ahead of next week’s return leg in the Spanish capital, where they will need to win by at least two clear goals if they are to continue their defence of the competition.
