Real Madrid’s unusual problem that could put the brakes on the season

Real Madrid have been plagued by injuries to key players this season, with long-term number one stopper Eder Militao and Belgian Thibaut Courtois, the clear number one goalkeeper, out. However, the Madrid team is troubled by something else. And that is clearly finishing and scoring goals.

In the summer, the “goals” have gone

During the summer transfer period, the offensive part of Carlo Ancelotti’s team in particular underwent a renewal. Gone was the beloved Ballon d’Or winner Karim Benzema, whose contract expired and he moved to Saudi Arabia to join Al-Ittihad for free. Marco Asensio was the same case, moving to Paris to join PSG and new coach Luis Enrique.

If we add up the goals scored by these two players, and only last season, we come up with the number 43. That’s how many goals these 2 players scored last season. And who replaced them? Joselu with returnee Brahim Díaz. Of course, Jude Bellingham came in as well, but his primary skill is not scoring goals, although it looks like it at the moment.

Compared to the Benzema, Asensio pairing the new signings scored a combined 24 goals last season. The difference between the figures is almost double, so already from the summer transfer window, Real Madrid fans could deduce if their favourite team will score a lot of goals again in the new season.

The substitutes are not scoring

This brings us to a problem unrelated to the selection of the starting eleven. Of course, it can happen sometimes that the coach chooses the wrong starting line-up and during the game the team will have to be substituted to pick up the game. Carlo Ancelotti has almost stood out in the past with his art of replacing an invisible player with a player who will make the difference in the following minutes.

A fitting example is the season in which Real Madrid won the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti sensed which players to send into the duel to turn the double match around. Every time Camavinga came off the bench for the rematch, the picture of the game changed enormously.

Let’s not forget how Rodrygo’s two goals sent the semi-final with Manchester City into extra time. The Brazilian also scored as a substitute in the match against Chelsea.

It is these substitutions and goals with substitutes that Real are missing at the moment. This season, Ancelotti has made 65 substitutions and no player has managed to score. The substitutes usually have the biggest part in changing the game and in the final, it can mean very important points in the final tally.

So what is the problem? Most of the substitutions are in the midfield, with players like Modric, Kroos or Camavinga usually coming on instead of players from the same line up like Tchouameni or Valverde.

The problem is also that there is usually no one on the bench to lift the offensive line. At the weekend in the 0:0 draw with Rayo Vallecano, Rodrygo was the only offensive option, instead of whom Joselu is usually on the bench.

Players like Brahim Diaz or Arda Guler stayed on the bench the whole game without going to warm up. Apparently, Ancelotti decided that their match practice wasn’t such that they could jump into the game or he simply didn’t trust them.

The days when Real Madrid had players like James, Morata or Asensio in the midfield who were able to come into a game and then decide it are so long gone.

Source: Real Madrid, Madrid Xtra