Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale's Proven Link Can Kick-Start Real Madrid
Real Madrid's run of four consecutive draws has fans frustrated, disappointed and annoyed with various aspects of the team, but none more so than the floundering front line in recent weeks.
Normally a guarantee of a host of goals and telling performances, the trio of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have not hit top gear yet, with the latter two in particular struggling to find sharpness after injuries over the summer.
It doesn't help that Madrid were performing well until they returned from injury—but fans shouldn't despair. While every point dropped in La Liga can be important come the end of the season, quality players will always find their way back into top form, and in Bale and Ronaldo, the side have two of the best in European football.
More than that, the duo have established a means of playing with each other and benefiting from each other, and it is that link play that can reignite Madrid's title charge when the side returns from international duty.
Signs This Season
It didn't take long for the first Bale-to-Ronaldo moment to take centre stage: five minutes into the latter's return to action, in fact, against Osasuna. That's how quickly one assisted the other this term, when the Welshman slid a low cross to the far post for the Euro 2016 winner to fire home. Up until that match, Bale had not claimed an assist for his team this season.
While the attack overall for Real Madrid has been individually suspect, those two players continue to show they have the understanding to complement each other when the mood takes them: Six goals have been scored by the duo combined this season, and half have been assisted by the other. Considering Ronaldo's third strike this season was a direct free-kick, he actually hasn't scored a goal set up by anyone else.
The same fate has befallen the defences of Borussia Dortmund and Eibar.
Bale's backheel flick to Ronaldo put Real Madrid ahead in the UEFA Champions League tie against the German side, while the Portugal international's deep cross was met by his team-mate's head for Los Blancos' goal in the 1-1 draw with the Basque team on Sunday.
A particular characteristic of the duo combining is their willingness to put in a ball—high or low—toward that far post when on the run, in the knowledge that the other should be attacking it at pace; and, if not, there's always the likes of Benzema or James Rodriguez who similarly target that area.
Madrid score plenty of goals from these short-range, difficult-to-defend passes toward the far post, and it's always the player running in who has the advantage of judging timing and elevation.
Long in the Making
Depending on which statistical provider you choose to prefer the definition of, the number of assists credited to each player can vary somewhat, but it's fair to say that Bale and Ronaldo tee each other up a significant amount—particularly in games that matter.
Naturally, not every chance created goes in, but nor do all "assists" deserve to be labelled as such.
Since joining Real Madrid, Bale has had to undergo changes to his game and grow a footballing personality to match the weight of his shirt and transfer fee. And despite seeming very settled at the club now, even beforehand—when there were still question marks over him—he still produced the goods in the final third.
In the Champions League, the front three have combined to win Real Madrid two further titles, and while the BVB game got the Bale-Ronaldo link up and running for the season, the charge for the trophy under Carlo Ancelotti owed a debt of thanks to it also.
"Bale has assisted Ronaldo 7 times. Only Benzema has set up @Cristiano more in the #UCL (11). pic.twitter.com/CPPJW75awe
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) September 27, 2016"
Twice Bale assisted Ronaldo against Schalke 04 and then again when destroying Bayern Munich on the counter-attack as Madrid surged toward the final. Once the trophy was won, the next campaign brought the FIFA Club World Cup; there it was the other way around, with Ronaldo assisting Bale against Cruz Azul.
Ronaldo totals four assists for Bale in the last 10 months; considering for almost three months of that period there was no club football, and for a spell at the end of last term and the beginning of this one, the Portuguese forward was absent through injury, it's a fair haul.
In the same time, Bale has laid on five for Ronaldo. Again, their best link play has come when running at pace and attacking one post each, with the best example coming in El Clasico last season.
Zidane's Choice
The BBC attacking trident has been a hallmark of Real Madrid's XI over the past few years, but in the short term at least, manager Zinedine Zidane needs to reconsider—and it's apparent that the middle man, Benzema, is the one who needs to make way.
Well short of match fitness, the counter argument is that he needs minutes to regain top form, but after dropping 12 points across two competitions in the space of two weeks, Real Madrid need to get back to winning ways as a team before considering the requirements of individuals.
Alvaro Morata hasn't had a bad start to life back at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, and he provides plenty of work rate in the channels and closing down opposition defences that would, in turn, release Bale and Ronaldo with the freedom to roam infield.
Morata's worst game of the season was comfortably his second-half appearance off the bench against Eibar last time out, yet even that was better than Benzema's non-event of a 45 minutes before he was hauled off. The France international recorded just six touches of the ball in the first half, per WhoScored.
The alternative is for Zidane to revert to a system he first used in pre-season: 4-4-2. In the summer, this was with the aim of playing Benzema and Morata together, but it is now applicable to use Bale and Ronaldo as a pair. They have done it previously under Ancelotti, and with the likes of Casemiro and Luka Modric injured, Madrid could use a boost in numbers in the centre of the park.
Mateo Kovacic, Toni Kroos and Marco Asensio have all played well enough to warrant being a part of the midfield, but Lucas, Isco and James Rodriguez could still fight it out for the fourth place, leaving the pace-setters in attack to lead the line.
Either way, Zidane has this two-week international break to draw up his battle plans and reassert Real Madrid's confidence and goalscoring potential on the pitch. Letting Ronaldo and Bale link up as often as possible is absolutely the way to go.
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