Real Madrid is struggling to score for a lot of reasons, from misplaced expectations to whatever is going on with Gareth Bale.
After Barcelona beat Real Madrid twice at the Bernabéu within the space of four days, Luka Modric said that Real Madrid misses Cristiano Ronaldo, and called out the forwards for not stepping up to fill the void of goal-scoring that Ronaldo left:
Modric: "Of course we miss Cristiano. The club wanted other players to step up, if not to score 50 goals, then 15 or 20. I will not name names but we need 20 goals from two or three players."
— Dermot Corrigan (@dermotmcorrigan) March 4, 2019
Modric’s criticism isn’t entirely fair. The whole team has been underperforming in every facet, at least until its recent surge under Santiago Solari. That includes the midfielders, too, like Modric, who was just named the best player in the world, andToni Kroos, who has come under heavy criticism for his lack of mobility and effectiveness this season. Marcelo, who is also one of the creative outlets for the team, has been relegated to the bench after a miserable start to the season.
This is admittedly a transitional season for Real Madrid, both in moving away from Ronaldo and as the season before it has to figure out what to do with so many of its aging stars and out-of-favor talents. While the criticism that Real Madrid needs more goals rings true — they’ve only scored 43 goals in the league so far, well below what their tally was at the same stage of every season when Ronaldo was with the club — the players that are being asked to make up the difference either don’t have the overall quality, or have been demoted to the bench (more on Gareth Bale in a bit). Modric is demanding from the current personnel a level of performance that it isn’t capable of.
The players asked to replace Ronaldo fell short of possibly unrealistic expectations
Karim Benzema is having a resurgent season with 20 goals in all competitions, and is on pace to have one of his best-ever scoring seasons at the club. But Benzema is not a player who can make up goals on his own. His quality goes beyond that. He’s a great player who works best when he can complement the quality of others.
Mariano had one shining moment when he scored against Roma with a curler from outside the box at the beginning of the season. Since then, he has been reduced to inconsequential substitute appearances. Handing him No. 7 after Ronaldo’s departure was, we know now, more about taking pressure off the shirt than a testament to Mariano himself.
Lucas Vazquez is similar to Benzema in that his contributions can’t be judged entirely by his goal count, but where Benzema’s importance is in play-making, Vazquez’s is in his work-rate and defensive stability. After the most recent loss to Barcelona, which Vazquez started, Solari praised the forward:
“Lucas has two of the qualities I admire most in the Spanish character: solidarity and bravery.”
Vazquez is among Solari’s favorites and, along with Vinicius, has displaced Gareth Bale from the starting lineup. Meanwhile, Isco, who was responsible for displacing Bale in seasons past, barely even exists on Solari’s radar. He started the 0-1 loss against Barcelona, but was a substitute for three games prior, and has only had a handful of starts in the new year.
Asensio, who seemed destined for greatness just a year ago, has also regressed and fallen out of favor under Solari. His last start was against Girona in mid-February, and that was his first start since the month before. He has only played a full 90 minutes once under the current manager, and he has only managed one goal apiece in the league the Champions League this season. When asked about the pressure on him to help fill the void left by Ronaldo, Asensio said:
“I don’t think it’s for me to carry the team — there are players who are much more experienced, have more years playing under their belts and more status than I have and they’re the ones who have to lead the team.”
Gareth Bale might have solved the Ronaldo problem if he hadn’t fallen out of grace
Bale is the one player on Real Madrid who does have the ability and record to bridge the goal gap all on his own, but his situation is a long and complex problem that seems to have reached a point where the only solution is for him to leave the club. He has never been embraced by fans or had the full trust of his managers, his future seemingly in question from the outset of his tenure with Real Madrid.
When Bale scored a penalty againstLevante, Vazquez tried to celebrate with him and Bale angrily brushed off the teammate. The situation has deteriorated so much that Bale’s agent felt obligated to public admonish Real Madrid fans:
Barnett, Bale’s agent: "This generation of Real fans will be talking about Gareth's goals for years to come. Frankly they should be ashamed of themselves. Gareth deserves the greatest of respect. The way the Real fans have treated Gareth is nothing short of a disgrace”.
— Arancha Rodríguez (@AranchaMOBILE) March 4, 2019
Bale has missed time because of injury and hasn’t reached expectations in Madrid, an issue compounded by the fact that he’s often been reported as an isolated figure who hasn’t embraced Madrid or his teammates. And yet, he has still managed more than 100 goals for the club, with performances that were critical to the club’s recent successes. He’s been one of the greatest and most successful British players to play in Spain, but where someone like Steve McManaman is remembered fondly, Bale seems to permanently reside outside of the club’s heart.
But there’s some promise for Real Madrid
The final, and most promising, attacking player for Real Madrid is Vinicius, the young Brazilian who became a starter for the team in January. In that short time, Real Madrid have won 11 of 16 games, and Vinicius has proven himself to be a spectacular prospect, a player who can breeze by defenders and create opportunities for others.
But as was evident in the second leg of the Copa Del Rey semi-final against Barcelona — and to a lesser extent, the 0-1 loss Barcelona — Vinicius is very much an 18-year-old kid. He dominated against Barcelona, but over and over he missed chances that a more mature player would put away. Those misses came to haunt Real Madrid when Barcelona converted their few opportunities.
Vinicius can only be criticized so much though. Bridging the Ronaldo goal-gap is a terrible burden to put on a player who just became a starter two months ago — a player whose rise is the only silver lining to what has been a disappointing season.
The good thing for Real Madrid is that even in a transition year, even after having a manager sacked and replaced, the team has managed to rise to third in La Liga and stay alive in the Champions League. They may have lost to Barcelona twice in a short period of time and been eliminated from contention for the Copa del Rey and league titles, but maintaining Champions League status and advancing can still make this a relatively successful season.
That consolation won’t make Real Madrid fans terribly happy, much less Modric, but that’s the reality of this team right now. By next season the team should look very different, hopefully with players who can finally make up for Ronaldo’s absence. Players who might finally take the pressure off Real Madrid’s forwards, who were always great compliments to Ronaldo but never meant to be replacements.
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