Christian Benteke reveals why he has had such a terrible season at Palace

There is only one word to describe Christian Benteke’s 2017/18 season for Crystal Palace and that is “omnishambles”. But he has now, after just two goals in 28 games, explained what he hell has happened.

The 27-year-old, who cost Palace £28m two summers ago from Liverpool, scored 17 goals in his first season at Selhurst Park, but this campaign something just hasn’t been right and he has registered just two goals from 57 shots.

That shot conversion rate of 3.51% ranks 201st in the division of players to have taken ten or more shots and while he did suffer a serious knee injury that kept him out for two months earlier in the season, as we roll into May he is running out of games to improve that.

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And now, with his spot in the Belgium squad under threat for the World Cup in June, Benteke has revealed why he is going through his most barren career spell yet.

“In the past I have had just one opportunity on the match and I scored,” he told Sky Sports. “This year, I feel more involved in the game, I make more effort but I’m not rewarded. I do not say it’s the fault of others, I’m clumsy, lack of lucidity, lack of success too. But I will work.”

On being omitted from Roberto Martinez’ World Cup squad recently he added: “I knew it was 50-50, I’m no longer a kid, I also knew the reason – it’s my statistics and not the overall quality of my matches.

“If I look at those who play in my place, I think they’re not in their best shape either. I should be in. In the end, the fact of not being in that squad had both negative and positive effect.

“Negative because I did not make it, even if it was only for one game. The positive was that it allowed me to stay in my club and to be able to work on knowing why I was not taken in. And to address it.

“f I had to miss [the World Cup], it would hurt me but I would recover. For my family, my family, my cousins, it would be different. It is also their dream.

“It’s not an individual sport where I’m alone. The more time goes, the more pressure I will feel, because they want it to work again for me, for me to be there. They’d see me on TV, with the others, with the team but I’m more motivated than ever.

“Everything that’s happening, it’s just a bonus. I’ll never spit in the soup. From where I came from, what I’ve done is already very good. I know I’ll never have Cristiano Ronaldo’s career, I’m not asking for it, but all I want is recognition.”