Ancelotti’s second stint as Real Madrid manager started on a good note in Alava as Los Blancos put the hosts to the sword.
The French striker scored twice and other goals from Nacho Fernandez and Vinicius Junior sealed an opening day victory for the Madrid-based team.
Ancelotti believes Benzema is more than just a goalscorer and insists he has really improved since he left him for other adventures at Bayern Munich, Napoli and Everton.
"[Benzema's first goal] opened the game up and we had more space to use our quality,” the Italian coach told Marca after Real Madrid’s win over Alaves.
"With Benzema, to just call him a forward is selling him short. He's a complete player. He has great personality too.
"Compared to the player I knew six years ago, he's much more complete and has much more personality.”
Real Madrid had to be patient before breaking the deadlock in the second half against Javier Calleja’s men.
Ancelotti added: "The first half was quite slow, with and without the ball," he said in his post-match press conference.
"We could have been better. The second half was better, with more intensity and quality.
