Where do Real Madrid rank among Europe’s most clinical teams?

After 21 La Liga Matchdays, Real Madrid are third behind rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid in goals scored in the league with 35.

Their attacking woes have been frequently dissected, as star striker Karim Benzema is the only forward on the team with more than two La Liga goals so far this season. He has 10, with defensive midfielder Casemiro in second, mostly via headers.

Los Blancos know they need to juice up their attack, though it may be hard to find upgrades in the summer 2021 transfer window.

Whereas their defense is solid at full strength and they have the world’s finest midfield trio, their attack leaves a LOT to be desired. Even a healthy Eden Hazard has not fully solved their woes.

Real Madrid are barely in the top five in La Liga

According to a recent study from the CIES Football Observatory, Real Madrid are 31st among teams in Europe’s top five leagues in shots per goal, which is a basic measure of clinical efficiency. In La Liga, they are fifth.

Furthermore, Los Blancos are 10th in La Liga in their percentage of shots within the penalty box and sixth in the average distance from goal of their shot attempts.

Basically, Real Madrid aren’t a great attacking team in terms of clinical efficiency, and they are safely outside the top 25 in Europe as a whole. As one of the 16 teams in the Champions League knockout stages, that means they have some work to do. Their Round of 16 opponents Atalanta, for example, have a better ratio of shots per goal than Los Merengues.

Benzema is doing a great job leading the line, but Marco Asensio needs to be more consistent. The same can be said for Hazard. Rodrygo’s injury has hurt the team significantly, as he was a good creator who could help the other forwards obtain better shots on goal. Other forwards like Vinicius Junior, Lucas Vazquez, and Mariano Diaz cannot be relied on to score goals.