Real Madrid and Barcelona are well known for being the powerhouses of Spanish football. Both clubs have star studded squads and are usually the betting favourites for top spot in the La Liga table.
You could also throw Real’s city rivals Atletico, managed by Diego Simeone, into the conversation, but for the most part, La Liga is Barcelona vs Real Madrid. As it stands, Barcelona are top of the table with 21 points from 7 games, Real on the other hand have 14 points from the same amount of games and are 6th.
Really it depends how you look at this that is key. The fact that Zinedine Zidane’s side is down in 5th and have dropped 7 points is huge news, but only 7 games have been played after all. The trouble is that, Barcelona, who sold Neymar and also lost his replacement Ousmane Dembele to injury, have won every game and are fast pulling away. So while Real are only 2 points off of second placed Sevilla, the only way to salvage their season is to close the gap quickly between themselves and Barcelona.
To really salvage their season, they need to continue the winning streak they’re on, currently 2 games, hoping Barcelona drop points along the way. Real don’t face Barca for over 2 months and by then, if things carry on as they are, the betting on the title race could be all but sewn up.
The stuttering start could be put down to a number of things, one being that they have only had Cristiano Ronaldo available for their last 3 La Liga games due to suspension. He was a part of the team that lost 1-0 at home to Betis but has played the last two games, which Madrid won, but is yet to break his scoring duck in the league this season.
His goals and performances have always been integral to any success that Real Madrid have had but are his powers beginning to wane at 32 years of age?
Without CR7 in the side, Real do look a completely different side. There is seemingly nobody who can take a game by the scruff of the neck and drive the team on. This has so far been proven with the lack of consistent goal scorers in his absence.
However, Real Madrid, like previously stated, are one of the real powerhouses of La Liga and also world football. Form IS temporary, class IS permanent and you would expect them to get back on track consistently pretty quickly. It would be a shock if they don’t and maybe it would highlight the need for the ageing squad to begin to be rebuilt.
