Cristiano Ronaldo Reportedly 'Struggling' Under Rafa Benitez at Real Madrid

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo endured a tough start to the 2015-16 season with a tepid showing against Sporting Gijon on Sunday, and, according to reports, he's "struggling" under the tutelage of new manager Rafael Benitez.

According to Carlos Carpio of Marca, the Portuguese’s relationship with the manager is "anything but smooth," and that’s manifested itself in the form of a solitary goal in 405 minutes of playing time. As noted in the piece, Ronaldo netted a staggering 61 goals in 54 matches during the previous term.

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The Los Blancos No. 7 cut an isolated figure out on the left flank against newly promoted Gijon, and the dynamic between Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, who has been handed a more central role under the former Liverpool manager, has yet to click in earnest.

But as is evident here, there have been chances for Ronaldo to get himself on the scoresheet, per BreatheSport:

"

Either Cristiano Ronaldo is human or he just wants Benitez to get sacked... https://t.co/5YDx3ShIrX

— BreatheSport (@BreatheSport) August 24, 2015"

The attacking issues aren’t limited to Ronaldo. As noted by Carpio, in the nine games in which Benitez has taken charge of Real Madrid so far, they’ve failed to score in five. For a team possessing attacking talent such as Ronaldo, Bale, James Rodriguez, Karim Benzema and Isco, that seems peculiar.

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When you think about it, though, it's not too surprising. After all, Benitez is renowned for putting an emphasis on pragmatism and tactical solidity. The Spaniard is a principled coach too, meaning it’s unlikely he'll deviate from his safety-first approach so early in his tenure.

Spanish football expert Graham Ruthven put a toothless Real Madrid side into context given the money the team has spent on offensive players:

While Benitez will be keen to do things his way at the Santiago Bernabeu, there is immense pressure on him to succeed. At Real, the easiest way to do so is to facilitate a system that gets the best out of Ronaldo and build from there. But at the moment, it doesn’t seem as though Benitez is willing to make that sacrifice.

Of course, there is an onus on Ronaldo too. For a player of his stature, his goalscoring return has not been good enough recently. It’ll be up to him to take some matches by the scruff of the neck for Real Madrid and aid Benitez in the early stages of his tutelage; otherwise, the duress on the manager will only be cranked up, and that does not bode well for a prosperous campaign.