Champions League: Three takeaways from Real Madrid’s dramatic draw with Mönchengladbach
By Ben Sundock
The finishing touch?
Where will the goals come from when Real Madrid needs them most? That has been the million dollar question since Cristiano Ronaldo departed the club.
More from The Real Champs
- Manchester City hold talks over Real Madrid target
- Real Madrid player confirms he is playing with a fracture
- Real Madrid superstar rejected Premier League clubs confirmed
- Spaniard ready to join Real Madrid instead of Liverpool
- PSG want €100 million Real Madrid player to replace Kylian Mbappe
For the majority of that time, there has not been an easy answer. Today, it was Karim Benzema and Casemiro. On Saturday in El Clasico, it was Fede Valverde, Ramos, and Luka Modric. This just proves that Zinedine Zidane is still desperately searching for an answer.
Except in the final third, I thought Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior were instrumental in building up the attack and pressing the Gladbach fullbacks. Once the ball entered the final third or the penalty box, it was like the Real Madrid players had never seen a football before.
Marco Asensio led the match in shot attempts with five, but two found their mark. Karim Benzema was getting into position to shoot, but hit the mark on two of his four shots. Though the French striker scored, it is worth pointing that these two plus Vinicius totaled 12 shots with only four going on target. The return of Hazard was nice to see and Rodrygo Goes came on late to help provide a spark, but I don’t think Zidane has someone he can say will score when it is needed most.
The quality in the midfield is there and Modric has been a big help moving the ball around the middle, but I just don’t feel comfortable saying one player on this roster can score match after match.