Benzema means business

Ronaldo is lagging behind French team-mate

Karim Benzema largely goes under the radar when it comes to talk about Real Madrid and Barcelona's attacking trios. 

Barcelona's 'MSN' of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar have all been in fine fettle for the reigning La Liga champions, while Cristiano Ronaldo hogs the headlines from Benzema and Gareth Bale, the other members of Real's three-pronged 'BBC' strikeforce.

However, a look at this season's goalscoring statistics throws up the unlikely fact that Benzema's goals arrive at a faster rate than any of his peers. 

Tied with team-mate Ronaldo, the Frenchman currently has 19 La Liga goals to his name, one behind La Liga's current topscorer Suarez. However, Benzema has spent less time on the field than the Uruguayan and Portuguese - Ronaldo actually the only forward to play every minute of every league game in the Spanish top flight. 

In total, Benzema has played 18 La Liga games this term and has 1346 minutes of gametime under his belt. His 19 strikes have therefore arrived at an impressive average of 71 minutes a goal - the fastest of any player in this category. 

Ronaldo, in contrast, has hit the same number of goals as Benzema over 2070 minutes - the former Manchester United winger therefore averaging a goal every 109 minutes. 

BBC and MSN minutes-per-goal averages:

1- Benzema: 71 minutes

2- Gareth Bale: 89 minutes

3- Luis Suárez: 95 minutes

4- Lionel Messi and Neymar: 107 minutes

6- Cristiano Ronaldo: 109 minutes