Five takeaways from Real Madrid’s 3-0 win against Deportivo Alaves

3. Benzema and Vinicius Jr. might be on the verge of running out of gas, and some signs are already there

Karim Benzema was running a race against time before the PSG tie, as he had to recover completely and return for what could probably be Real Madrid’s biggest match of the season. Well, he did return in time, but his performances against both PSG and Alaves have been disappointing, to say the least.

Not just Benzema, but even his partner Vinicius Jr has been out of form of late and is struggling in the final third ever since he returned quickly from the international break, to be available for the Copa Del Rey quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao. They did score a goal each yesterday, but that doesn’t mask the fact that they were poor yesterday, and looked out of sorts as well as out of ideas at times.

Vinicius missed a big chance with Pacheco saving his left-footed shot in the second half, while the on-field captain Benzema had missed three golden goalscoring opportunities, with the post preventing one from going in. Not just in finishing, but the Benzicius combo appeared to be slower in some 1v1 situations as well.

Well, this only means one thing – Benzema and Vinicius need to be used properly by Carlo Ancelotti from now, and excessive workload might make them run out of gas and lead to injuries. The Italian manager has a lot of options available, and he needs to trust them more and take the risk of resting his key players from time to time, to keep them fresh for the big games.