Real Madrid: Ranking the 10 best goals of the 2020/21 season

Real Madrid had a disappointing season in attack, scoring just 88 goals in all competitions, a figure which is lower than the 99 goals scored in the 2019/20 season. It is the second consecutive season in which Real Madrid hasn’t crossed the 100 goal mark. It is fair to call Real Madrid’s attack a one-man army, as the top-scorer Karim Benzema didn’t have a lot of support from his attacking partners.

Though there weren’t a lot of goals, there were some memorable goals from the season, which came at crucial junctures and kept the team alive. Let us have a look at the top ten goals of this season, which are ranked upon the basis of parameters like technical brilliance, technique, timing, and the importance of the goal. Let us start with a couple of honorary mentions.

Honorary mentions

Benzema’s match-winner vs Elche in the 91st minute, 13/3/2021

Benzema has been Real Madrid’s top scorer this season, scoring 30 goals in all competitions. Most of those goals came at a time when Real Madrid needed them, he didn’t just stat pad his way through to the top. This goal against Elche came at one such time. Real Madrid had a tough outing against Elche at their own stadium, with Kroos and Modric being rested for the immediate knockout fixture against Atalanta. Los Blancos struggled to create chances and convert them into goals, and a 61st-minute opener from Elche made things worse.

But then stepped up Benzema who scored two goals to lead Real Madrid to a comeback fixture. While the first one was a header off Luka Modric’s cross from a short corner, the second one was a screamer. Benzema played a one-two in added time with the Brazilian, who chested the ball towards the Frenchman for him to take it on the bounce with his weaker left foot and thump it into the bottom right corner.

It was some way to win the match in the dying minutes of the game, and keep the team in the title race all by himself.

Luka Modric’s beautiful finish in the El Clasico, 24/10/2020

Luka Modric has played a lot of Clasico’s in his spell at Real Madrid, but he never scored a goal against the club’s arch-rivals Barcelona. Of course, midfielders aren’t obliged to score goals and they are never your primary goalscorers, but sometimes these legends mark their name in the history books with a special goal or special moment And Modric finally got his moment in his 9th season at Real Madrid.

He came on for Fede Valverde in the second half, offering more control to Real Madrid who was leading by 2-1 and also releasing the wingers for quick counters. In one such sequence in the 90th minute, Modric released Vinicius onto the goal, but Neto came rushing from his goalline to punch the ball away from Vini.

But he parried it only to the substitute Rodrygo, who squared the ball to the Croatian waiting on the edge of the box.  Modric could’ve taken the shot with his first touch, but he chose to have some fun with the Barcelona goalkeeper and defenders. He confused Neto, who was just a metre or two away from him, with his quick movements using his magical feet and shoulder feints.

He kept him guessing with every movement. But then the little magician took a shot with the inside of his right boot, which pierced through the little gap between Lenglet and Dest, and ended up in the place where that shot belonged to. Frenkie De Jong, who’s known for his skill move on Modric in 2019, could do nothing but stare at the brilliance of one of the greatest midfielders ever, as the goal secured the 3 points for Real Madrid.