Real Madrid 5 Ups And Downs After 0-0 Draw With Real Sociedad

Down: Lack of minutes for Real Madrid’s backup strikers

It was frustrating to watch Zinedine Zidane make the wrong substitions in the second half when Real Madrid were chasing a goal. He has done this so many times since the start of the 2019-2020 season, and Madridistas continue to wonder why he has so little faith in Luka Jovic.

After playing under 500 minutes in his first season from Eintracht Frankfurt, Jovic could be headed on loan if he doesn’t have a path to playing time. He needs to receive more minutes in 2020-2021, even if Karim Benzema is locked in as the starter. Real Madrid bought Jovic for that much money for a reason.

Yet Real don’t just have Jovic. They also have Borja Mayoral, who scored eight goals for Levante in the best season of his career last season. He may have a place on the first team this season if Zinedine Zidane continues to be impressed with him.

Neither Jovic nor Mayoral played a single minute against Real Sociedad, even though Madrid needed to score. Instead, Zidane put on two midfielders and two debuting prospects. None of those four players made a significant impact on the game. Jovic, who scored two goals with an assist in 422 La Liga minutes last season, could have easily done more.

Zidane needs to do better. There are no two ways around it.