Real Madrid focus shifts to Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema as goals dry up without Cristiano Ronaldo

Essential: Real Madrid will be reliant on Bale to help end their drought
AFP/Getty Images
Ben Hayward6 October 2018

Everything appeared to be on track. Real Madrid were playing some fine football, creating chances and scoring goals in a run of form culminating in the club’s 3-0 win over Roma in the Champions League, a win which brought praise from fans and the media. Since then, however, it has all gone wrong.

Julen Lopetegui’s side struggled to beat Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu in their next match, a 1-0 win which arrived courtesy of a Marco Asensio strike initially ruled out but then confirmed by the video assistant referee. And they have not scored in 319 minutes since.

That is more than five hours of football. It started with the 3-0 loss at Sevilla, where Luka Modric saw a strike ruled out for offside by VAR; it continued in a derby draw against Atletico at home last Saturday; and then there was a disappointing defeat by a single goal at CSKA Moscow in the Champions League on Tuesday.

It is easy to point to Cristiano Ronaldo’s summer sale and conclude that they are missing the prolific Portuguese, who was worth 50 goals a season on average to Los Blancos and netted 44 in as many games last term. And in the Champions League group stages, he always seemed to score.

In Pictures | CKSA Moscow vs Real Madrid | 02/10/2018

1/20

There was, of course, no Ronaldo replacement signed in the summer as Madrid wanted Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, and considered Eden Hazard, but ultimately decided to stick with what they had when the first two were unavailable and the third was too expensive.

But it is more than that. This is a tired team. The average age of Real Madrid’s side is creeping up and Modric, for one, looks exhausted. He has been rested or used as a substitute in several games by Lopetegui, while Isco and Gareth Bale have been sidelined.

Fatigue after the World Cup is probably a factor and mistakes have been noticeable, too. Toni Kroos’ careless back-pass led to CSKA’s goal in Moscow on Tuesday and was an uncharacteristic error from the German, although Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal and Keylor Navas were also at fault in the mix-up.

In Pictures | Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid | 29/09/2018

1/10

It is worth noting that the last time Madrid failed to claim a major trophy at a season’s end was in 2014-15, which also followed a World Cup. And amid a series of games grouped all together, their form has dipped. Rest and rotation will be important to avoid a repeat this time.

But the goals will have to come from somewhere. There is the feeling in this recent run that, as they have tired, Lopetegui’s side have also regressed back into their comfort zone. Their play has been more predictable and more direct, when there had previously been a more complex and patient build-up under the Basque boss.

The old playing style worked better with Ronaldo and also Bale, but without those two, it makes much more sense to ultilise Lopetegui’s passing and possession philosophy. Against Alaves in La Liga on Saturday, Madrid will now hope to rediscover their touch in front of goal.

Benzema is back to being a non-scoring striker, following a flurry of goals earlier in the season, and Real need the French forward to convert again. Meanwhile, Bale should return from injury this weekend and he too will be essential as Lopetegui’s side seek to end their drought.

“We weren’t able to score from the numerous chances we had,” Lopetegui said after seeing his side hit the woodwork three times in Moscow.

“The ball didn’t want to go in and we paid for it with the defeat. We have to create the greatest number of opportunities possible. We will be back scoring and winning soon.”

This time last season in La Liga, Ronaldo was not scoring either, but this current crisis obviously makes many lament his absence. Not since 2006-07 had Real failed to net in three consecutive matches, which was well before the Portuguese had arrived at the Santiago Bernabeu.

At Alaves last season, with Cristiano struggling, it was Dani Ceballos who struck two goals in a hard-fought 2-1 win in Vitoria. Just over a year on, Madrid will want something similar, and the focus will be on Bale and Benzema, but it does not really matter where the goals come from… just as long as they do arrive.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in