Goal-Shy Real Madrid Missing its Best Playmaker

As usual, “El Clasico” didn’t disappoint, for neutrals anyway. The first meeting of the year between Spain’s hated rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid was a bit like a boxing match: Realpulled the first punch with Cristiano Ronaldo hitting the post 11 minutes in; Barcelona scored the first goal out of nothing from a set-piece; Real responded with a brilliant equalizer throughRonaldo and then continued to have the better of the play until Dani Alves’ post-up lob landed perfectly in the stride of Luis Suarez, who duly dispatched home what proved to bethe winner in the 56th minute. However, after that, it was more or less all Barca: the Catalans comfortably absorbed Real’s pressure and responded with waves of counter-attacks that reallyshould have put the game to bed.

After a look at this morning’s papers, the general consensus is that Real was the better the team for the first hour of the game, but few would deny thatBarcelona deserved the three points, especially after Suarez’s goal. There’s also no question that Real faded badly after going behind for a second time…it’s almost as ifCarlo Ancelotti’s men didn’t believe they could score again.

According to AS writer JuanmaTrueba, Real faded as midfield engine Luka Modric faded — the Croat has only just returned from a bad hamstring injury and is still lacking fitness. Meanwhile, Real supporters, itseems, decided to point the finger at world-record signing Gareth Bale and youngster Jese Rodriguez. The pair, who were largely anonymous in the game except for Bale turning home aRonaldo header that was later called offside (it was very tight), were apparently on the receiving end of some violent fan conduct as they drove home on Sunday night.

Modric tiringand Bale failing to perform well certainly contributed to Real’s loss at the Camp Nou, but what about the club’s generally poor form recently? What’s happened to the team that reeledoff a record 22 consecutive victories in all competitions last fall?

On Feb. 4, Real Madrid beat Sevilla 2-1 at home, but it was a punishing game in that the then-league leader lost two of itsmost influential players, center-back Sergio Ramos and midfield playmaker James Rodriguez, to long-terminjuries. 

In the nine games since in all competitions, Real has won four, lost four and drawn one, scoring 13 goals and conceding 11. You don’t win the league with stats like that.And while Ramos — who is every bit as important to this team as Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo — returned from injury on March 14, James is still sidelined with a fractured right foot.

TheColombian’s importance to Real’s success must not be underestimated, either. James has notched 12 goals and 9 assists in 32 appearances, but he also has that intangible ability to springquick counterattacks with his impeccable vision and range of passing that speedy wingers Ronaldo and Bale thrive on.

With Ramos back, Real’s defense will certainly improve over the final10 games of the season, but Off The Post would argue that with just 13 goals in nine games since James’ injury, Real’s attack has suffered more. The Colombian will be a key cog in thewheel when he returns from injury in the next few weeks. If he can rediscover his form quickly, then the La Liga title race is most certainly not over … and then Bale and/or Ronaldo might not leave for Manchester this summer.