Here’s how Real Madrid can improve the production from their wingers

Ever since one of the greatest players in the history of football, Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid, the club has experienced a lot of problems in attack. In the three seasons from 2018 to 2021, Real Madrid have failed to hit the 100 goal mark twice, and have won only one major trophy. This speaks loads about the impact Cristiano Ronaldo had in the attack, and how the attack has struggled to cope with his absence.

Karim Benzema stepped up in the best way possible and has consistently scored 25+ goals in the past three seasons. But he didn’t have the luxury of having support from another player. His longstanding partner Gareth Bale had a massive decline in both motivation and his physical powers, while the player who was purchased to be Benzema’s partner, Eden Hazard has been injured for more than 60% of the last two seasons.

As my colleague Kevin has explained in detail, Real Madrid’s wings have been an area of concern. Real Madrid’s wingers apart from Hazard are mostly young, and they aren’t that lethal before the goal. Have a look at their stats in the 2020/21 season, with numbers taken from Transfermarkt:

• Eden Hazard: 4 goals and 1 assist in 886 minutes
• Marco Asensio: 7 goals and 2 assists in 2614 minutes
• Vinicius Jr: 6 goals and 7 assists in 2722 minutes
• Rodrygo Goes: 2 goals and 8 assists in 1298 minutes

We can exclude Lucas Vazquez, with him playing as a right-back for the most part of the season. But these numbers aren’t that good for a winger playing for Real Madrid, a team that is known for their brand of attacking football and ruthlessness against opponents. In the last twenty years, Real Madrid have always had at least two reliable goalscorers in their team, but in the last two years, the club has relied on only one goalscorer in Benzema, which has costed the team on multiple occasions.

The problem might have a solution named Kylian Mbappe, but for the amount of money and time invested in the youngsters, there is a need for the club to bring the best out of their young wingers and help them reach their potential. Carlo Ancelotti will have a huge task on his hands, and he has to try to create a formula that can extract better production from the wingers, with equal effort from their side as well.

Let us have a look at three such ways in which Real Madrid’s wingers are able to improve their goal output.