DUBAI: Form is temporary, class is permanent.
After a difficult start to his Al-Ittihad career, Karim Benzema has stormed back to his best to crown a sensational season with a two goal-performance as the Yellows added the King Cup to their recent Saudi Pro League triumph.
Team-mate Houssem Aouar was nominated as the man of the match in the 3-1 win over Al-Qadsiah in Friday’s final at King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
As the celebrations continued the day after the final, football accounts and fans — many from France and former club Real Madrid — across social media have been united in their praise for the former Ballon d’Or winner, who on Wednesday was named 2024-25 player of the season by the Saudi Pro League.
On X, @433, which has a following of 5.8 million, commented: “AL ITTIHAD WIN THE SAUDI DOUBLE! What a season for Karim Benzema: Saudi Pro League. King’s Cup. Player of the Year.”
Meanwhile @theMadridZone, with 1.4 million followers, posted a photo of Benzema with the King Cup and Saudi Pro league trophies following the presentation after Friday’s final.
Just three days earlier, the same account had posted: “Congratulations to Karim Benzema for winning the Saudi Pro League with Al-Ittihad. Champion wherever he goes.”
Al-Ittihad’s own English account on X had simply posted: “THE GOAT. Player of the Season @Benzema.”
The French star became the first player since Julio Tavares of Al-Faisaly to score twice in the final of Saudi Arabia’s premier cup competition with goals in the 34th minute and deep into stoppage time at the end of the match.
The first came from a clever chested effort from Steven Bergwijn’s cross from the right while the second was a simple tap-in from close inside the six-yard box to end Al-Qadsiah’s dreams of a late miracle.
Aouar scored Al-Ittihad’s second on 43 minutes while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang replied with Qadsiah’s solitary effort six minutes into stoppage time at the end of the first half with a penalty as the Jeddah giants claimed their tenth title in the competition.
At the final whistle, a celebrating Benzema still found time to console former Real Madrid colleague and current Qadsiah captain Nacho with a warm hug.
Benzema had joined Al-Ittihad in the summer of 2023 but his first season did not go to plan as the then reigning champions failed to retain the SPL title they had won for the first time in 14 years the previous campaign.
Injuries and lack of form, not to mention managerial changes at the club, led to frustration from supporters who questioned the wisdom of Benzene’s signing as Al-Hilal stormed another League title.
All that has been forgiven and forgotten as Benzema rolled back the years to score 21 SPL goals for Laurent Blanc’s team in 2024-25, behind in the top scorer’s chart to only Al-Nassr’s Cristiano Ronaldo with 25 and Al-Ahli’s Ivan Toney with 23. The King Cup double was the icing on the cake for the 37-year-old Ittihad captain.
While Benzema has rightly been lauded by his club’s supporters and others across the region for his display, Algeria’s Aouar has been named player of the match by football platform Sofascore, which awards players scores out of 10 for their performances. Aouar was given 8.3 for his own starring role against Al-Qadsia, which saw him nod-in from close range after Qadsia goalkeeper Koen Casteels had saved brilliantly from Benzema’s header.
Ittihad goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic was second with a score of 8.0 while Benzema came third with 7.9.
