MX23RW : Thursday, December 19 13:51:52| >> :120:16591:16591:

Roberto Martinez defends Christian Benteke's scoring record at Crystal Palace

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez defends the goalscoring record of Christian Benteke, despite the Crystal Palace forward netting two goals in the Premier League this season.

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez has suggested that Crystal Palace's Christian Benteke is not at fault for his poor return in front of goal in the Premier League this season.

Benteke has netted just twice in 26 appearances, and the forward squandered more opportunities to find the back of the net in Palace's 2-1 defeat to Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

However, Martinez - who works with Benteke on the international scene - has claimed that the 27-year-old would have a better scoring record if his Palace teammates had created more chances for him throughout the campaign.

On Goals On Sunday, the 44-year-old said: "You want a striker to be there for those chances. I was very pleased with his performance, he was a real focal point for Crystal Palace, in the first half Liverpool couldn't cope with him.

"Christian Benteke won every aerial ball and when you use him in the right way he's very efficient. The problem is if Christian Benteke had those two chances in every game they played, he would score goals.

"I don't think the problem is scoring, it's the team creating those chances, if they create a similar amount of chances that they created [against Liverpool] from now until the end of the season, you'll see Christian Benteke is a goalscorer."

Benteke is likely to feature in Belgium's squad for the World Cup in the summer.

ID:322371: cacheID:322371:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:2375:
Written by
Darren Plant
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Christian Benteke in action for Crystal Palace on February 4, 2018
Read Next:
Hodgson tips Benteke for 2018 World Cup
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool15113131131836
2Chelsea16104237191834
3Arsenal1686229151430
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest168442119228
5Manchester CityMan City168352823527
6Bournemouth167452421325
7Aston Villa167452425-125
8Fulham166642422224
9Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton166642625124
10Tottenham HotspurSpurs1672736191723
11Brentford167273230223
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle166552321223
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd166462119222
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham165472129-819
15Crystal Palace163761721-416
16Everton153661421-715
17Leicester CityLeicester163582134-1314
18Ipswich TownIpswich162681628-1212
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1623112440-169
20Southampton1612131136-255


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!