Karim Benzema Showing Again and Again How Vital He Is for Real Madrid

Thump. Mr. Benzema, welcome back. 

As returns go, this was emphatic. Less than six minutes had passed at the Bernabeu between Real Madrid and Sevilla on Sunday night when Gareth Bale, running in space out wide, flung a right-footed cross into the centre of the visitors' box in the direction of Karim Benzema.

It was a familiar-looking move, but concurrently it also struck you that it was a move that hadn't been seen for a while. For 63 days, in fact. 

Indeed, this was the first sighting of Madrid's BBC—Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema and Bale—together as a unit for more than two months.

The Welshman had limped off with a calf injury during January's rout of Sporting Gijon; the Frenchman had followed him to the sidelines when suffering an injury in February's Madrid derby. Their comebacks had been staggered, and in their absence, Ronaldo had been forced to shoulder a heavy load. 

But not here. 

As Bale's cross found its way to Benzema in a typical BBC move, the striker, in his first appearance in almost a month and stationed in the middle of five Sevilla shirts, swiveled fractionally to open his body. Pitching just in front of him, the ball was a difficult half-volley, but it didn't matter; Benzema blasted it into the top-right corner, and Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico was left on his knees, staring at his net, wondering what the hell just happened. 

The looks on the faces of Benzema's team-mates said it all.

But he wasn't done. 

In the seconds before Bale let fly with a searing shot early in the second half that flashed just over the bar, it had been Benzema's interplay on the right wing that had set up the Welshman; when Ronaldo won a dangerous free-kick minutes later, ditto on the left. When the Portuguese scored in the subsequent move, Benzema's capacity to occupy and worry Timothee Kolodziejczak had helped to free space, and when Bale tapped home the third, it was Benzema's dinked pass that had created it. 

Francisco Seco/Associated Press

"Watch out Barca, the BBC are coming," said Marca in the aftermath of an eventual 4-0 victory. 

"The Real winning formula: the 'BBC' plus Keylor," said AS. 

"If we keep playing like this we are capable of great things," said Zinedine Zidane. 

Like this? Yep, this: power, swagger, explosiveness, structure, direction. Three fearsome forwards supported by seven others working collectively behind them.

This was more like it. 

At times this season, it's been possible to question the logic behind the use of the BBC. Particularly under former manager Rafa Benitez, the trio looked awkward and ill-fitting, as Bale's positioning changed and Ronaldo's freedom was affected. But under Zidane, a return to familiarity has helped: Bale has gone back to right after the down-the-middle experiment, Ronaldo has his freedom again and Benzema is linking them together once more. 

Admittedly, due to injuries, the sample size is small of the three together under Zidane, but the scorelines are telling nonetheless: 5-0, 5-1 and 4-0. 

On Sunday, the latter of those scorelines could really have been anything. This was a game in which two penalties were missed, goals for each team were wrongly disallowed and goalkeepers Keylor Navas and Sergio Rico were extremely busy.

It was also an evening when Madrid, after some troubling displays, looked to have some structure again. 

In midfield, Casemiro played a leading role in providing that, but no one is more critical to said structure than Benzema. 

Denis Doyle/Getty Images

As made evident by the recent and laborious clashes with Malaga, Levante and Las Palmas, Madrid struggle systematically without the Frenchman. 

In his absence, Madrid lack a presence through the middle, a reference point. During the striker's recent layoff, Ronaldo became a quasi-No. 9, Isco was trialled as a false nine and both Jese and Borja Mayoral were introduced. But none of Benzema's team-mates can come close to replicating what he does: link the attack, present to the midfield, occupy centre-backs, play with his back to goal and create space. 

As such, without the France international, Ronaldo can be crowded out of the game. Both he and Bale take on awkward half-winger-half-striker existences. The midfield can't play through the central channel. Structurally, Madrid become messy. 

Again and again, we've seen it when Benzema is absent. 

Again and again, we've seen the difference when he returns. 

On Sunday, Madrid had purpose, clarity and an avenue through which to operate. With Benzema as the central fulcrum, so much of what can make Los Blancos devastating fell into place again: Ronaldo and Bale circling, Benzema providing, the midfield presented with options. 

This was more like it. This was dangerous, something to build on.

The returning Frenchman triggered it.