Real Madrid: 5 players who must shine in January 2020

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MILAN, ITALY – SEPTEMBER 23: The FIFA FIFPro Men’s World11 Award Winner Marcelo of Real Madrid and Brazil poses with his trophy during The Best FIFA Football Awards 2019 at Teatro alla Scala on September 23, 2019 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Simon Hofmann – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images) /

LB Marcelo

Real Madrid star left back Marcelo hasn’t played since Nov. 30 when Los Blancos defeated Deportivo Alaves, and it was another solid outing by the Brazil international. He should be able to return against Valencia on Jan. 8 in the Spanish Supercup Semifinals, and he could also go up against Sevilla breakout star Lucas Ocampos for the first time this season on Jan. 18.

Marcelo has been vital to Real’s attack. When he’s in the lineup, Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard look even more lethal. With Hazard out, Real have had a much more difficult time starting counterattacks and creating chances once they get into the final third. Perhaps a healthy Marcelo can change this for Los Blancos, but he’ll need to step up his defense against the likes of Valencia and Sevilla so that there’s no drop-off between him and Ferland Mendy.

CF Karim Benzema

Los Blancos have not scored multiple goals in their last three games, and they haven’t played a truly impressive game in the attack against a quality opponent since their November draw with PSG in the Champions League, which came after an even more impressive 3-1 win over Real Socidad in La Liga.

Karim Benzema was at the heart of both matches, scoring against La Real before bagging a brace against PSG. With 23 goal contributions in 23 appearances, Benzema is both Real’s most important chance-creator and goal-scorer. In fact. he’s the only player on the team with more than three goals in La Liga.

So if Real are to score goals, they need Benzema to put them in the back of the net. At this point, it’s that simple, unless Toni Kroos, Rodrygo, or Gareth Bale find consistency in front of the net.

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