Mane, Salah, and Benzema are amongst the favourites to win the Ballon d'Or...
A couple of years back, Karim Benzema was caught in the tunnel cam instructing his teammates not to pass to Vinicius Jr during a UEFA Champions League clash against Borussia Monchengladbach.
“Don’t play with him. On my mother’s life, [Vinicius] is playing against us,” the Frenchman said to Ferland Mendy.
Although he later apologised and Vinicius also played down the incident, we could see that there were sparks of discontentment between the two. Cut to 2022, the relationship has undergone a complete makeover. Against Chelsea in the UEFA Champions League, Benzema was seen instructing the Brazilian where to put the cross after he dribbled past his marker.
Vinicius carried out the instructions to perfection which led to Real Madrid's decisive goal that fired them to the semifinals. Against PSG, it was the same partnership that produced the goods as Vinicius threaded the ball for Benzema from the baseline and the striker did the rest.
“People remember what I said about him [in Monchengladbach], but these days he’s nothing like the player he was then. Ask him! It was clear he had so much more to produce: with a few words, a few indications on the pitch I showed him important things about playing in the last 30 metres of the pitch.
"Now he makes the right decisions about the shooting, crossing, about lifting his head to that he can see the picture in front of him. He’s doing what he should have been doing for some time. Vini is young but very good; now there’s nothing needed to be said to him,” opined Benzema after the Chelsea match.
The duo is always looking out for each other and the understanding between the two has increased manifold since the beginning of the campaign. The two players are different from each other in style and yet they complement each other to perfection. While Benzema is level-headed, suave, and has the freedom to roam about in the final third, Vinicius banks on his pace and excellent dribbling skills. Together they have a staggering 100 goal contributions between them this season which highlights the rich vein of form they have been in.
Meanwhile, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah have been equally brilliant for Liverpool. Both of them were once again on the scoresheet as Liverpool rounded out their league season with a 3-1 win over Wolves and on Saturday the African duo will be Madrid's biggest threat. The two wingers can score or set up their teammates at will which make them a dangerous proposition to deal with.
However, it is not quite often that we get to see them combine. In fact, Salah's assist for Mané's header against Southampton, earlier in May, was the first time the duo combined for a goal in the Premier League since June 2020 against Crystal Palace. It must be noted that in general, Mane and Salah operate from the opposite flanks while Benzema and Vinicius are more interlinked during build-up play as Benzema plays through the centre and Vinicius beside him on the left wing.
While speaking to Egyptian broadcaster MBC, Mohamed Salah said, "My relationship with Sadio [Mane]? We are teammates on the pitch and in the locker room, and it's a professional relationship. He and I give everything we have for the team to win.
"We may have a competition for who is better, but this is normal in any team and a legitimate right for any player but in the end, we serve the team. Sometimes I act selfishly on the field, but no one puts his interest above the interest of the team, and it is not intentional."
However, their individual numbers are a cause of envy and worry for all oppositions. This was one of Salah’s most prolific seasons in English football, despite the fact he spent a month at the Africa Cup of Nations. Although he has been far from the level of his 2017-18 heroics, his 23 goals and 13 assists from just 30 Premier League starts speaks volume about the impact that he has had in the league. He has the capability to draw two-three defenders toward him which creates room for his teammates to exploit.
Meanwhile, Mane has 16 goals and four assists in the league. In all competitions, the duo boast of 75 goal contributions which shows how indispensable they are for Liverpool. Nonetheless, stats will hardly matter when they face off in the UEFA Champions League final in Paris. Salah is already gunning to settle the score against Real Madrid, while Benzema will look to lift his fifth Champions League trophy and take another vital step towards winning his first Ballon d'Or.