Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after loss to Shakhtar Donetsk

Real Madrid are in trouble after another horrendous loss.

After their 1-0 loss to Cadiz, Real Madrid were supposed to figure things out and register a win to start the 2020-2021 Champions League campaign. Their opponents on Wednesday, Shakhtar Donetsk, were missing several key players due to COVID-19, yet Shakhtar pretty much dominated the game, save for a furious late comeback attempt for Los Blancos.

That comeback was too little, too late. Here are five burning questions for Los Blancos after a humbling defeat. El Clasico is next.

Can Luka Jovic be the lone striker for Real Madrid?

Luka Jovic had a rather anonymous performance before being substituted in the second half, as Real Madrid brought on Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema for Jovic and Rodrygo Goes. Fans were excited to see Jovic get another chance with Rodrygo on the left, but Jovic basically did nothing of note as the lone striker in his first opportunity of the season to shoulder the load on his own.

We didn’t see anything positive from Jovic off the ball, and he was starved for service due to the poor performances of his teammates. Jovic had a glorious opportunity to score after an inch-perfect cross from Marcelo, but he squandered it. He didn’t even head the ball cleanly, as the attempt weakly bounced off his shoulder.

Jovic only had limited opportunities to prove he should stay and not be replaced by Erling Haaland in a couple of years. Despite some encouraging performances, Real Madrid have no reason to see him as the future right now.