Karim Benzema faced severe criticism and fierce attacks from Al-Ittihad fans due to his performance in Al-Raed’s last match, in addition to what was reported that the French international “ran away” in the middle of the match.
One of the videos showed Benzema looking at coach Marcelo Gallardo with the score 2-1 for Al-Raed, as if asking him to replace him quickly.
Some considered this behavior to be an escape, which forced Coach Gallardo himself to come out and talk about the matter.
The Argentine, in an interview with the media after the match, said, “Replacing Benzema? It is a decision of mine for technical reasons. He did not request the substitution, I decided.”
However, Al-Ittihad fans do not stop pouring their anger on Benzema, as he is the team’s first star and is expected to carry the “Commander” on his shoulders in light of the major crisis that the team has been experiencing recently.
Al-Ittihad lost 3-1 to Al-Raed to fall to sixth place in the Saudi League, and from a practical standpoint, its hopes of maintaining the shield in Jeddah become impossible as the difference with leaders Al-Hilal widens to more than 20 points.
A few days before that, Al-Ittihad failed to deliver what was hoped for in the Club World Cup and exited the competition in the quarter-finals after losing to Al-Ahly 3-1.
It is noteworthy that Benzema scored 12 goals this season with Al-Ittihad and assisted 4 others in 19 matches in all tournaments.
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