Christian Benteke has taken to life at Crystal Palace with ease but the Belgian needs to recognize what he now has at Selhurst Park.
Christian Benteke has settled into life quickly at Crystal Palace. Jurgen Klopp and Liverpool had no use for the striker at Anfield, but he is now showing what he can do in a team that wants and needs him.
With Benteke it’s always about fit. He can’t just play in any team. The team has to be set up to get the best out of him. The team has to be built around his skill set and his talents in order for him to succeed.
If you do not do that, then you get the Christian Benteke of Liverpool. If you do get it right, however, as Alan Pardew is currently, then you get the Christian Benteke of Aston Villa and now Palace. They’re two different players.
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Palace were already utilizing wingers last season, with Yannick Bolasie, Wilfried Zaha and Jason Puncheon in the squad. Now Bolasie has moved on to Everton, but Andros Townsend arrived from Newcastle United as his replacement.
Although, what the team were really desperate for was a striker. Benteke was the perfect choice. With Townsend on the left wing and Zaha on the right, the Belgian finds himself in an ideal situation right now.
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The team is setup for him to be a success. For him to score goals. With plenty of crosses coming into the box from wide, Benteke has all he needs to return to his goal-scoring ways of years gone by.
Which he has now done with three goals from five Premier League games. Admittedly, it’s still early. But Benteke is getting plenty of opportunities to do his rendition of Lebron James’ ‘The Silencer’ celebration. Twice in the last two games, to be exact.
Palace are playing precisely to Benteke’s strengths. Something Liverpool did not do – and nor will any other top Premier League club. That’s what the 25-year-old has to now realize. That is the lesson to learn after his time at Anfield.
No big Premier League club is currently set up to play in such a way to get the best out of Benteke. None. Neither are any of them going to change for him either. If Benteke continues to score goals at Palace this season, moving clubs should be the last thing on his mind.
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Stay where you are while the going is good. Palace is the perfect place and setup right now. Even better than Villa was. But Benteke is fortunate to be at a club where the team is built around him. That’s a luxury. A luxury Benteke needs in order to perform.
And perform he is doing. But just remember why that is.