Benzema - Mr. Assist

Carlo Ancelotti believes Karim Benzema holds the key to the continued success of the 'BBC'. The coach knows that the Frenchman is the ideal side-kick for both Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale. In fact, the stats show that Benzema is the best set up man in the business for CR7. The Portuguese striker is clearly more comfortable when Benzema is on the pitch because a look is all it takes between them to set their goal-scoring wheels in motion.

Last season, Benzema gave Ronaldo 13 assists, one of which unintentionally ended up in the back of the net. In addition, the Frenchman singled out his team mate with 86 passes. However, these stats refer to the league only and, on top of that, there were four more assists in the Champions League, and another goal, plus a further 49 passes. These stats are an improvement on those of the previous season.

Benzema has always made it clear that he enjoys setting other players up just as much as he does scoring himself. "Having a good game is a mixture of many different things, moving well off the ball, supporting other players, making decisive passes and scoring goals. I may end up scoring a goal, but if I haven't played a key part in other areas then that's not a good game in my book," the French international said this week.

Contributing to the way the team plays is as important to Benzema as it is for Ancelotti, the latter having made it very clear to Florentino Pérez that Suárez's joining the club would never be at Benzema's expense.