<P> In late November, Benzema began appearing mainly as a substitute as manager Manuel Pellegrini preferred Gonzalo Higuaín in the lead striker role . To coincide with his benching, the striker was also being criticized by the Spanish media for his under - performance and difficulties settling in the country as he had not yet begun learning the Spanish language . He was even declared the "new Anelka" by a Spanish newspaper Marca blogger, referring to former Real Madrid striker Nicolas Anelka who had a tumultuous year at the club before being sold . Benzema was defended by his compatriot Zinedine Zidane, who admitted "after two months, I was also criticized" and that Benzema was "a talented player and talented players in Madrid must win". </P> <P> On 5 December, Benzema appeared as a substitute for Rafael van der Vaart and scored the third goal in a 6--0 romp of Almería . The day after the match against Almería, Benzema responded to the criticism by stating, "I am totally integrated and very happy at Real Madrid," and, "Yes, I have improved my adaptation . I have a new home and I'm learning Spanish to understand myself better with my teammates ." After nearly a month coming off of the bench, he started alongside Higuaín away to Valencia on 12 December and responded by assisting on one of Higuaín's two goals . A week later, Benzema returned to the bench . On his 22nd birthday, he scored in a 6--0 home win against Real Zaragoza . Following an injury to Higuaín in early January 2010, Pellegrini inserted Benzema back into the starting lineup . After failing to score in his first two starts in the absence of Higuaín, against Deportivo La Coruña on 30 January, he scored a double in an important 3--1 away win . Following the return of Higuaín, Benzema was relegated back to a substitute's role and finished the campaign by making eight consecutive appearances off the bench . Included in one of those appearances was his final goal of the season against Athletic Bilbao in a 5--1 win . </P> <P> Ahead of the 2010--11 season, Benzema switched to the number 9 shirt as Real Madrid were under the tutelage of new incoming manager José Mourinho . The striker immediately drew the ire of Mourinho who declared to reporters during a pre-season media session that "Benzema must understand that he is extremely talented, but that in itself is not enough", while also stating that "(Madrid) need a striker who is sparky, not one that is listless". Mourinho sentiments were later echoed by incoming France national team coach Laurent Blanc who acknowledged that Benzema was "not used to working". Blanc also stated that the striker needed to shed weight in order to fulfill his potential . </P> <P> Due to Mourinho preferring Ronaldo and Higuaín as his forwards, Benzema began the campaign as a substitute coming off the bench in the team's opening league match of the season against Mallorca . Following the September international break, he made his first start in a 1--0 win over Osasuna . On 21 September, Benzema made a substitute appearance and scored his first goal of the season in a 3--0 home win against Espanyol . Afterwards, the striker failed to score a domestic goal for nearly two months . The striker did assist on goals in back - to - back weeks against Hércules in the league and Milan in the Champions League . </P>

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