Real Madrid need goals but are not short on ability in the attack

Real Madrid will make it their priority to add a top goalscorer in the summer 2020 transfer market, but even though they are short on goals, they are not lacking in talent up front.

In the 2019-2020 La Liga season thus far, Real Madrid have only one player with more than five goals, and that player is none other than legendary striker Karim Benzema. Yet Benzema has scored sparingly in the second half of the season, calling attention to the need for a true primary scorer whom Benzema can support, as opposed to “Benz” being the top man by himself.

At the wide forward positions, Real Madrid have a collection of players with a lot of ability. Eden Hazard is one of the best players in the world, and the FIFA 20 cover co-star looked like it in November before going down with his first injury. Gareth Bale USED to be one of the best players in the world, but after a dismal, injury-plagued 2019-2020 season, Real know they can no longer count on him.

Between them, Hazard and Bale scored three goals in La Liga and zero goals in the league from December onward. Even though Hazard played at a high level when he was healthy and missed considerable time with injury after November’s 2-2- draw with PSG, the lack of production must be pointed out since it was never accounted for.

Because beyond Hazard and Bale, Real didn’t have anyone they could count on for consistent goals. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes are talented teenagers but are still developing, and Lucas Vazquez, who quietly scored two goals in 640 minutes for a mildly impressive scoring rate, is more of a utility right winger who provides running than end product.

That said, in spite of Real Madrid’s deficiencies in the goal-scoring column, nobody can look at the talent they have in the front three and surmise that they lack ability. There is plenty of skill in Los Blancos’ attack.

Benzema, for example, is one of the best strikers of his generation, and he’s earned this recognition on the backing of his all-around game. A willing worker, Benzema will drop deep to defend or be a creative player in the attack, and he would often drift wide to combine with Hazard. It could be frustrating to see nobody in the box, but Benzema’s efforts would also be rewarded; he led the team with six assists.

And Hazard is on another level when he’s on the ball, starting counterattacks and creating loads of chances for Benzema or others to score and assist. Hazard only had one goal and one assist in La Liga this season, but, per WhoScored.com, he averaged 3.9 dribbles completed per game and 3.5 fouls drawn per game. Don’t overlook the value of the fouls either, since they lead to dangerous free kicks for the hyper-accurate Toni Kroos.

The young players also deserve high praise. By the second half of the 2019-2020 season, Vinicius Junior was one of the most important players on the team, shining in the best way possible as the matchwinner in El Clasico. And while Rodrygo’s workload was eventually scaled back to ease the first-year Madridista, his perfect hat-trick in the Champions League vs. Galatasaray provided a glimpse at his world-class potential.

Finally, backup striker Luka Jovic is a talented poacher who can take a leap to stardom in his second season with the club, while Isco is capable of playing as. wide playmaker and was the team’s best player in the final games of the 2019-2020 season. With Marco Asensio set to return from injury and provide his rocket of a left foot, Real’s attack will clearly be stocked with (mostly young) talent.