Real Madrid: Five burning questions after the opener against Real Sociedad
By Parshva Shah
When will other attackers contribute with goals?
Last season, Real Madrid scored just 99 goals, of which 27 goals were scored by Karim Benzema. That’s 27.27 percent of the goals coming from the Frenchman.
The second-highest goalscorer on the pitch was Sergio Ramos, a defender, with 13 goals in all competitions. No other player in the squad – be it a forward, a midfielder, or a defender – hit double digits in goals scored.
When you look back to the 2016-17 season, Cristiano Ronaldo scored just 25 goals in La Liga out of the 106 scored by Real Madrid, 23.58% of all scored goals. Benzema scored 21 goals in the league in 2018-29, which is 30 percent of the goals that Real scored.
The problem is not the lack of a poacher or a goal machine. It’s the underperformance of other forwards in front of goal that has harmed Real Madrid’s overall offensive production.
Rodrygo was the second-highest non-penalty goalscorer in the squad which is a reflection of the impotence in attack, although one could also consider the fact that Eden Hazard and Marco Asensio were injured for most of the season while Luka Jović was given just 806 matches across the entire season.
With the return of Ødegaard, it is likely that the offensive production of the team will be more efficient. Let’s hope that when Asensio and Hazard return to full fitness, they can contribute with at least 50 goal contributions.