Real Madrid Must Make Statement of Attacking Intent vs. Malmo

It's not very often that a team who set a record for scoreless minutes walk away from the day as winners, but on Saturday, that's exactly what occurred. 

For Javi Gracia's Malaga, a 0-0 draw with Real Madrid took their scoreless run to open the season to 540 minutes, going well past the dreaded record previously held by Xerez at 497. Gracia, though, was visibly pleased: "We're happy," he said afterwards. And so he should be. 

Prior to Malaga's visit of Madrid on Saturday, 95 games and almost four years had passed since the Bernabeu last witnessed a double zero, and 56 had gone by since Real Madrid were last shut out in Chamartin. For the visitors, then, it was an achievement, but not so for the hosts. 

It was a "strikeout," cried Marca; a "tactical blockage," said a critical AS.

"These things happen in football," said Rafa Benitez. 

That's certainly true, they do; Rarely will you see a team launch 31 shots on goal as Real Madrid did on Saturday and walk away with a blank. Particularly when Cristiano Ronaldo lays a personal siege on that opposition goal, forcing the opposing goalkeeper into action more often than any film character ever played by Steven Seagal.

At the same time, however, Benitez will be acutely aware Real Madrid's attack is far from fully functional at present, given that Saturday's scoreless stalemate with Malaga comes on the back of a somewhat fortuitous 1-0 victory over in Granada in their previous home outing. 

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Admittedly, there are mitigating circumstances at present for Los Blancos, who are still without James Rodriguez and Gareth Bale in attack. Against Malaga, the Welshman who thrives in space likely wouldn't have been the perfect weapon Benitez needed to prise open a tightly packed defence, but the Colombian would have been.

A potent dual threat, a player whose degree of unpredictability stirs doubt in the minds of the opposition, Rodriguez and his diverse talents would have been invaluable against the Andalusians who grew relatively comfortable against a Real Madrid attack that grew somewhat predictable.

"[It was] a Madrid we haven't seen since the days of Zamorano, Hugo and Santillana: Cristiano, deployed in a central role, waiting for a never-ending supply of balls whipped in from either wing," remarked AS in its match report. 

Rodriguez, one sensed, would have changed that. 

Regardless, though, Benitez and Real Madrid will want to prove that the efficiency of the team's attack and the balance of the system aren't entirely dependent upon the presence of just one or two men, in the manner that became evident last season under Carlo Ancelotti.

Instead, this team will want to show it's a better all-rounder than the 2014-15 incarnation—an outfit capable of exerting its attacking power even when there isn't a cocktail for a perfect storm. 

As such, Wednesday's trip to Sweden to face Malmo in the Champions League represents an important moment in Real Madrid's season.

This isn't make-or-break time, of course; far from it, in fact. But it is a chance to show that—before Rodriguez, Bale and Sergio Ramos return—the much-discussed depth of the current squad is as deep as they say. That this team can rebound from setbacks. That this team can attack and score with menace even when the circumstances are sub-optimal. 

When you glance as the fixture list ahead, you see why. 

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Following the midweek meeting with Malmo, Benitez's men have the Madrid derby on Sunday and then quickly hit the beginning of an imposing seven-game stretch starting on October 21; Paris Saint-Germain away, Celta Vigo away, Las Palmas at home, PSG at home, Sevilla away, Barcelona at home and Shakhtar Donetsk away. 

That's essentially their hardest fixtures in their Champions League group and the sternest tests available in La Liga all rolled into an eight-week period. 

Momentum and confidence, therefore, will be necessary. Ditto for attacking fluency. 

Malmo is the place to start, the place to make a statement.