Karim Benzema’s Crazy Volley Goal Is the Sports Highlight We All Needed
This goal was WILD
How long has it been since you saw a legitimate sports highlight? Like, the kind of play that would claim one of the first three spots on SportsCenter’s “Top 10” on a normal sports day? I started following the Taiwanese baseball league on Twitter because they post highlight clips and I’ve seen a couple of diving outfield catches and some slickly turned double plays, but nothing that rises to the level of a must-see highlight. Plus, it’s tough to get too excited about the Fubon Guardians, a team I didn’t know existed until March.
I have heard of Real Madrid, though. Soccer is starting to resume across Europe, the first sport to start up again that large numbers of Americans actually follow. Real Madrid took on Valencia on Thursday, and god bless Karim Benzema for providing a true highlight play.
Benzema scored twice in his team’s 3–0 victory. The first was a nicely placed one-touch finish into the corner of the net. The second was a beauty.
Benzema took Marco Asensio’s pass, kicked it up over his own head and volleyed it into the upper corner of the net. Truly spectacular.
You can see it in slow motion here.
I actually slowed it down even more and watched it frame by frame. If you do that, it’s easier to notice how Benzema, after he lands back on the ground, while tracking the ball with his eyes, takes a few small steps to put himself in perfect position for the shot. And it all takes about two seconds. Insane.
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