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Benzema grabs Lyon chance

Teenage striker Karim Benzema hopes his goalscoring form for Olympique Lyonnais will continue against Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Champions League.

Giant strides
Benzema was a reserve-team player when Lyon defeated Madrid 3-0 a year ago but the powerful youngster has made giant strides since then. Top of the club's scoring charts with three league goals, he is very much part of the first-team set up this term and is now relishing the prospect of facing Madrid. "I really hope I get on the pitch because playing Madrid would be magnificent," he told uefa.com. "There's a lot of competition for places at Lyon but hopefully my promising start has given Gérard Houllier something to think about."

Houllier's faith
The Lyon coach knows all about nurturing young talent having worked with a teenage Michael Owen at Liverpool FC, and he looks set to place similar faith in Benzema after naming the 18-year-old as one of just three strikers in his squad this season. With Pierre-Alain Frau departing for Paris Saint-Germain FC, Benzema is confident this will be his breakthrough year. "The club brought in several new players in the summer but they didn't buy another forward," he pointed out. "That's a good sign for me. It shows that the coach trusts Fred, John Carew and myself to score goals. Now we have to make sure his trust hasn't been misplaced."

Prolific scorer
Benzema has been talked about as one of Lyon's hottest prospects for several years, and his recent flurry of goals will not have surprised many at the Rhône club. A prolific scorer in youth football, he registered 38 goals in one season for Lyon's Under-16s, and also fired France to glory at the UEFA European Under-17 Championship two years ago. Benzema was given a brief taste of senior football by Paul Le Guen in 2004/05 but featured more regularly, often as a substitute, under Houllier last season.

Regular place
Now a regular both for his club and for the France Under-21s, his career is progressing at a rapid pace. "I'm pleased with the way things are going but I hope to become more powerful and more influential as the season goes on," Benzema said. "The experience I've gained with the U21s has been helpful because the overall standard is much higher. The games are quicker and the players are physically stronger because they've fully matured."

'Biggest test'
The next stage in Benzema's development is to play regularly in the UEFA Champions League. The pacy Frenchman did not look out of place when he made his debut in the competition against Rosenborg BK last year, scoring in the 2-1 win, and now he is hungry for more. "The UEFA Champions League is the biggest test for a player," Benzema said. "The best clubs in Europe and the best players in the world are all there. I'm lucky to be beginning my career at Lyon where there is a winning culture here. I rub shoulders with great players every day in training and I know I can learn a lot from them because they've been playing in the UEFA Champions League for many years."

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