Real Madrid: 3 players who must step up after loss to Alcoyano

Real Madrid CF Karim Benzema

Karim Benzema was Zinedine Zidane’s first substitution and only sub during regulation. He entered the match in the 67th minute for Mariano Diaz, who delivered an absolutely shocking performance that Madridistas won’t ever want to see from a striker wearing their kit.

Although Benzema made a couple of great runs off the ball, he failed to impose himself on the game in 53 minutes of action against a team he should have scored multiple times against. I mean, you’d expect Benzema to find the back of the net against a third-division side, and while his teammates did not do him any favors (looking at you, Vinicius), Benz has to shoulder some of the blame, too.

Benzema wasn’t good against Athletic Club either, and it seems like he’s slumping again after finding a great patch of form following his brace in the must-win victory over Borussia Monchengladbach.

The striker hit the woodwork once but had no shots on target otherwise, completed no dribbles, connected on just 81 percent of his passes, created just one chance, and lost the ball 10 times. Those are poor numbers for a superstar striker, let alone against Alcoyano.

No single player is more important to Real Madrid than Benzema, who is, once again, their leader in goals and assists in La Liga this season. He will surely play better than this in the coming weeks, and, well, he has to. Benz is so vital to this team’s success.