Real Madrid: The Biggest Disappointments of the 2020/2021 season

Marco Asensio

Yes, Marco Asensio gets a separate paragraph among the biggest disappointments of the season. I really thought he could be the answer to our struggles in the final third. He had shown plenty of promise before his ACL injury.

He then returned to action towards the end of last season with a bang, scoring with his first touch against Valencia. He finished the 2019/2020 season with three goals and one assist in 334 minutes, an average of 1.07 goal contributions per 90 minutes.

I was excited at the beginning of the season to see Asensio take the responsibility to lead Real Madrid’s attack and alleviate the scoring burden from Benzema. I even claimed that the former Mallorca man could easily give us 15-20 goals in the league if he gets consistent minutes. I could not have been more wrong about that. Asensio only managed nine goals and two assists in all competition this season in 2496 minutes, a mere 0.3 goal contribution per 90.

Asensio was a massive disappointment this season, and Madridistas will be happy to say goodbye to him this summer if it comes to that.

Zinedine Zidane says ‘adieu’

2020/2021 was a tough season for Real Madrid. Injuries plagued the team, as I mentioned before. The players that escaped major injuries looked exhausted by the end of the season. Toni Kroos missed the final few games of the season due to Covid-19. Furthermore, no attacking player other than Benzema looked like they could put the ball in the back of the net.

And with all the obstacles in his way, it is to the credit of Zidane that Real Madrid was able to compete in both UCL and La Liga till the very end. Many pundits even went as far as to say that this was Zidane’s best managerial season. That is saying a lot considering he is the only manager to have won three straight Champions League Trophies for Real Madrid.

Now, imagine the disappointment on many Madridistas when just a few days after the final La Liga match of the 2020/2021 season, Zidane communicated that he is stepping down as the first team’s manager. The Frenchman is not without fault. He has his shortcomings as any other manager would. However, what the former Los Blancos manager brought to this Real Madrid team was magnanimous. I can envision no other manager compete at the same level that Zidane did with all the barriers he had this season.

Zidane leaving the team because he feels underappreciated and betrayed by the board is the biggest disappointment in an already frustrating season for Madridistas.