Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from a 2-0 win over Osasuna

Real Madrid still need to step up in one respect

A 2-0 win over Osasuna should feel good and should lift the spirits of Madridistas, as Real Madrid took advantage of Barcelona dropping all three points to Granada a couple of days earlier. But it is important to point out the bad with the good. There was something that left me wanting regarding this performance.

It’s the fact that it took so long for Real to score despite all the possession they had and the chances they created. Against a higher quality team that can be a big problem. Marco Asensio played better in this game and was more active with the chances he created, but he wasn’t taking up dangerous enough positions as a scorer, which is a problem when Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard are putting in so much work to create.

I have bigger criticisms of Vinicius Junior in this game. Lately, I’ve mostly been targeting Asensio for falling back down to earth after scoring four goals in four games, but Vinicius also needs to perform better. He was indecisive and made too many mistakes in the penalty box against Osasuna. Again, it’s only going to get more difficult for him and Asensio against Chelsea.

Even though Benzema had a great assist for Casemiro, he really wasn’t at his best either. That can be forgiven, since Benz has been so damn good this season. But it does go back to the question of the other needing to step up.

Let’s see where Hazard starts against Chelsea and who else starts with him in the attack. There will be opportunities out there with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric returning. But Real Madrid really, really need to take them. That means people besides defensive players like Casemiro and Militao or the man carrying the attack from a scoring perspective, Benz.