Blanco: Benzema’s Injury Not Serious, but I Didn’t Want to Take Risks; He Can Intimidate Opponents Just by His Name

In the 9th round of the Saudi League, during the Jeddah Derby, Al-Ittihad defeated Al-Ahli 1-0. After the match, Al-Ittihad’s head coach Zinedine Zidane revealed that Benzema’s injury was not serious, but the team decided not to risk it, and the opponents had prepared for Benzema’s potential appearance, which turned out to be in vain.

In the Jeddah Derby, Benzema did not play due to an injury. Al-Ittihad won 1-0 with a goal from Saleh Al-Shehri, catching up to the top of the table with an extra game played.

After the match, Al-Ittihad’s head coach Zinedine Zidane revealed that even without playing, Benzema could still intimidate the opponents, “Benzema’s absence caught the opponents off guard. They were prepared for his participation. But without Benzema, we still have Al-Shehri, who brought us the victory.”

Zidane stated that Benzema’s condition was not severe, but he refused to take any risks, “Benzema felt some pain in his back muscles, so he needed rest. He is a key player for our team, and I didn’t want to take any risks. We’ll see what happens this weekend.”

Regarding the team’s performance, Zidane expressed dissatisfaction with the second half, “I am not satisfied with the team’s performance, especially in the second half. Of course, this is related to the fact that we played three games in a week, while the opponents did not have the burden of multiple competitions and had more time to rest.”

Zidane believed that the team could have sealed the win in the first half, “I think the score should have been 2-0 in the first half, but unfortunately, we didn’t capitalize on the opportunities. However, we managed to win in the end. I know Al-Ahli performed well in the second half, but why don’t you discuss how well we played in the first half?”