With Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid failed to score at all in 8.86% of their games but now the Portuguese forward has left, the figure has risen to 23.94%.
Back in the summer of 2018, it was fairly obvious that Real Madrid were going to miss Cristiano Ronaldo, who had departed for Juventus. Could they ever really replace a player who guaranteed 50 goals a season? The club responded by bringing back Mariano from Olympique Lyon – one year on and the forward doesn’t figure in Zidane’s plans and has made just a handful of appearances since his return.
Madrid have never been the same since Cristiano left – winning just one trophy, the Club World Cup and the team’s goals tally reveal just how much they miss him. Saturday’s goalless draw against Betis showed how much the team is struggling to score – even at home. It was the first 0-0 draw at the Bernabéu under Zidane and the fourth game in which Madrid have failed to find the net – PSG, Atlético, Mallorca and Betis. Since the new campaign started on 17 August, Madrid have not scored at all in 28.57% of their matches.
Madrid’s goal scoring figures from last season
It’s not a new dynamic for Los Blancos – in 2018-19, with two changes of coach (from Lopetegui to Solari and Solari to Zidane, Madrid failed to hit the target in 13 of the 57 games they played in all competitions – in terms of percentage, that’s 23.94%…
Those figures look quite startling when compared to the ones Madrid registered with Cristiano. With the insatiable Cristiano, Madrid did not score in 46 of the 519 games played over nine seasons – 8.86% – quite a way off the 23.94% registry at Madrid since Cristiano took his goals to Turin.
A goal apiece for Hazard, James and Jovic
The ranking of goal scorers in Zidane’s Madrid gives a clear idea of where the goals are coming from. Leading the table is Benzema with 7 followed by three players whose role in the team isn’t strictly to to supply goals – Toni Kroos (3), Casemiro (2) and Ramos (2). Immediately behind them are Rodrygo (2), Bale (2), Vinicius (1), Jovic (1), Hazard (1), James (1), Lucas (1) and Modric (1). To date, Madrid have scored 24 goals in 14 matches – an average of just over 1.7 goals per game .