Real Madrid: 3 Players Who Must Step Up with Hazard, Asensio out

Real Madrid won’t have Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio available against Real Sociedad. Who steps up?

As Los Blancos gear up to mount the defense of their La Liga title, Real Madrid are expected to be without the duo of Eden Hazard as well as the new No. 11, Marco Asensio. Both the Belgian and the Spanish forward were purported to be important pieces of the attack for the upcoming season, with Asensio’s eye for goal being necessary to ease the burden on Karim Benzema.

Real have had to cope with both the forwards being out for major parts of last season and in their absence this time around, we look at three players who must take the onus to step up.

Real Madrid LW Vinicius Junior

Starting his third season in a Blancos shirt, the Brazilian winger is expected to start in his favored left wing role. His pace coupled with his dribbling abilities can unsettle defenses with ease and he has the ability to do it for the entire 90.

Vinicius clearly carried over his skills when he made the switch from futsal to football, one of the key facets of his game is his ability to draw defenders out of their position, which should especially work well for Karim Benzema as the Frenchman will hope to carry on his goal scoring exploits from last season. He has shown the ability to get in behind the defense with his terrifying pace and keeps the fullbacks on their toes at all times.

The Brazilian winger has been touted to use the absence of Hazard to his advantage, and he has all the abilities to be a threat to the former Chelsea man’s spot on the left side of the attack. His physical attributes have improved over the last season and he doesn’t go to ground easily as a result. He has already shown signs of a better composure in front of goal, scoring a goal in the Clasico last season and there would be no better indication of the improvement of his finishing abilities than to score a few to start the season.