Disappointment. That was what I felt when the final whistle of the Classic yesterday, where Barcelona thrashed Real Madrid 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu for the return of the Copa del Rey semifinal. I feel disappointed because, despite the fact that the merengue team was infinitely superior from the game, the tactics and the arrivals, again it went thrashed before the eternal rival. I feel disappointed because, despite all the arrivals that were generated, again there was no one who was able to send at least one of those balls to the bottom of the network. I feel disappointed because the same story has been repeated of the rest of the Classics of the season: a Real Madrid that has proven not to be inferior to Barcelona, ends up being humiliated for not knowing how to make the occasion that it generates.
Real Madrid had 16 goal opportunities, of which only 4 went to the goal and none ended in a goal. This team plays and generates, but unfortunately this sport is played with goal and whoever gets the ball more times there is the one who ends up winning, something that Real Madrid has often been unable to do this season.
The problem in this case is the last interpreter, that in charge of scoring the goals, of that last shot in front of the goal. Since Cristiano Ronaldo left the team heading to Turin last year, Real Madrid was left without that player capable of finishing all the chances generated by his teammates. And in no game of the season has this fact been as evident as in the Classic yesterday. Real Madrid missed Cristiano Ronaldo and a lot; with the Portuguese in the field at least one goal would have managed to embocar.
And then we must review by those responsible for the goals in this post-Ronaldo team, who have been largely in debt. We can not wait to win when your '9', the center forward of your team spent the entire match combining in the half moon without anyone in the penalty spot, moving around the area without even stepping on it and playing for a player who is no longer in the team. We can not expect to win when your striker on the left (who only knows how to play for that band and nowhere else) has 4 clear goal opportunities and is not able to score any because he simply does not know how to kick. We can not expect to win when your striker on the right is all he knows how to do is run and he simply does not contribute anything to the offensive game of the team.
And I do not doubt the technical quality of Benzema and everything that contributes to the creation of plays or the dynamism of Vinicius and how he is able to drive the rival defenses crazy (by Lucas Vázquez if I do not have anything good to say, he is a player who simply does not have the level to be a starter in Real Madrid); but when we do not understand what our fault really is or take care to correct, we are simply unsuccessful.
So you can not win, so you can not aspire to anything. The lack of a goal is a sin and Real Madrid knows it. Since the beginning of the Lopetegui cycle this terrible failure of the white team has been evidenced, but neither the Spanish nor Solari have been able to correct this problem. The worst thing is that the solutions are available and it seems that no one can see them. I find it inconceivable that Solari is able to leave out the call to Mariano, the only franchise player who has the team
Mariano may not be the fastest striker or the most technical, but he is a striker with a lot of goals; of those who enter the field and know that at least one occasion will have to send the ball to the back of the net. However I see with sadness as neither Lopetegui nor Solari seem to not trust him. The other great solution of Real Madrid to try to make up this season is that Marco Asensio returns to its best level. Asensio is that kind of player who has an incredible effectiveness, who is capable of sending the only chance that comes his way at the back of the net, he is a born auctioneer. In addition, he is a perfect player to combine with Benzema and to occupy the position of '9' when the Frenchman leaves the area. But, at least for now, the return of Asensio to its best form seems even more difficult than that Mariano receives opportunities.
The lack of a goal is a sin that Real Madrid, a team characterized by its effectiveness and because the goals were falling out of their pockets, simply can not afford. This has made Real Madrid have received two goals lying and avoidable against Barcelona.
I hope that Solari, who has had the courage to make decisions of great weight, is able to correct this situation with the little material that counts to finish the season decently. Otherwise, and despite being the least guilty of this situation, it will end up being the first to be cleaned up in the inevitable renewal of Real Madrid next summer, where its first objective will be to find players capable of bringing the Bernabéu that precious treasure that It was lost since Cristiano left us: the goal.
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