'I'm happy' - Benzema announces Al Hilal arrival with debut hat-trick

Wearing Al Hilal blue for the very first time, Karim Benzema marked it with a superstar performance.

The new signing hit a hat-trick upon introduction to the Riyadh club, his treble setting the Roshn Saudi League leaders on their way to a thumping 6-0 at Al Okhdood. For good measure, Benzema added an assist and later collected the Man of the Match award to go with his match ball.

“I’m happy,” he said after a second hat-trick in Najran this season. “I’m happy because I play well. Thank you to all the fans. They are together; we need them every game. Everybody is good for me. They give me everything so, when I’m on the pitch, I give everything to them.”

Having given Al Ittihad everything in winning both last season’s RSL and the King’s Cup, Benzema made the high-profile move from Jeddah to Riyadh earlier this week.

The Frenchman signed a 1.5-year contract with the 2023-24 champions but needed only 31 minutes on Thursday to show why the current table-toppers recruited him.

Already suggesting he’d settled well with some expert around play to that point, Benzema latched onto a loose ball in the Al Okhdood penalty area to back-heel into the net for the opener.

His hat-trick was sealed within four minutes from the hour mark. First, Benzema doubled Al Hilal’s advantage with an easy finish from Malcom’s pull-back. Almost in a flash, he added a third from a similar centre from Al Hilal captain Salem Al Dawsari.

Benzema then turned provider by teeing up Malcom, before Salem added two more goals to round out an excellent evening down south.

Al Hilal had six, their lead at the summit extended to three points from second-placed Al Ahli - although Al Nassr can close the gap once more to one should they defeat Al Ittihad in Matchweek 21's marquee clash on Friday night.

But Thursday was all about Benzema.

“It was an important game today,” the reigning RSL Player of the Season said. “So we are happy. We play well, we kept a clean sheet, we score. So we are happy.”