Real Madrid: 3 major concerns that need to be addressed heading into the new season
Real Madrid lacking enough goal threats
A major headache heading into the new season. After the departure of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid failed to find a suitable replacement to replicate his goals and placed all their money on a 32-year-old Karim Benzema to solely carry the attack.
Karim Benzema, on the other hand, didn’t disappoint. He had a brilliant campaign as he completed the season as 2nd top scorer in the league, finding the back of the net 21 times, although while being the only Real Madrid forward to hit double figures.
Sergio Ramos, a center back for Real Madrid, was the second-highest goal-scorer for the Merengues in a La Liga winning campaign with 11 goals and that speaks all about Real’s attacking woes. Leaving out Benzema, the rest of the Real Madrid forwards have a combined total of 16 goals between them.
Real Madrid goals scored in a La Liga season in recent years:
Scored 118 goals (3.11 per game) in the 2014-15 season under Carlo Ancelotti
Scored 110 goals (2.89 per game) in the 2015-16 season under Zinedine Zidane
Scored 106 goals (2.79 per game) in the 2016-17 season under Zinedine Zidane
Scored 94 goals (2.47 per game) in the 2017-18 season under Zinedine Zidane
Scored 63 goals (1.66 per game) in the 2018-19 season under Lopetegui and Solari
Scored 70 goals in the 2019-20 season under Zinedine Zidane. (1.84 goals per game)
Source: fbref.com
This will be a major issue that needs sorting out.
Ever since Zidane re-organized the defensive structure and system, Real have looked more like a cohesive unit while warding off opposition attacks. They’ve looked more sturdy at the back and have fixed their defensive shortcomings. Although it has been a historic turnaround from a defensive standpoint, the attack-line will need much more refining to do.
Vinicius Junior will need to hone his finishing a bit more, sharpshooter Luka Jovic will have to be ready to step up for Karim Benzema and marquee signing Eden Hazard, who is yet to explode in a white shirt, will have to find his Chelsea form again. Heading into another season relying on Karim Benzema to do everything upfront again might not be the safest bet.
With the Norwegian sensation Martin Odegaard back in the Spanish Capital, it’ll be curious as to how Zidane sorts this out.