Zinedine Zidane Right to Remove Cristiano Ronaldo Until He's Closer to Top Gear
Real Madrid drew their second fixture in La Liga in succession on Saturday, 2-2 at Las Palmas to follow up a midweek 1-1 scoreline at home to Villarreal, but they remain top of the table by a point ahead of Barcelona.
Just as Los Blancos found it difficult to win in the Canary Islands last season—a last-minute Casemiro winner was required—so too did Zinedine Zidane's side struggle for fluidity and domination. This time, they were on the receiving end of a late goal.
Las Palmas' equaliser, five minutes from time, came after Zidane had subbed off Cristiano Ronaldo. Such is the level of stardom, expectation and focus on the No. 7, much of the postgame reaction was on his reaction rather than the result; of the nine post-match articles posted on Marca, four were on Ronaldo and his substitution.
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Zidane was correct to do so, however, both in the context of the match at the time Ronaldo went off and in terms of Ronaldo's form post-injury. The French manager must remain strong enough to repeat the trick in future games to protect Real Madrid and their star player for the season ahead.
Pre-Season
Ronaldo has featured in four games since his return from the injury he suffered in the Euro 2016 final, playing the full 90 minutes on two occasions and scoring twice in the process.
He particularly made an impact in his hour or so on the pitch against Osasuna, his pace on the counter helping split the opposition apart on multiple occasions. But there's no question the Portugal captain hasn't yet been at, or indeed even near, his best form.
And it's no surprise.
Ronaldo is lacking sharpness, unsure in his first touch at times, and his mobility is not the lethal arrow it usually is; much of it stems from missing pre-season.
Technically sound though he may be, Ronaldo's athletic perfection is where much of his success has stemmed from, balancing his speed and acceleration power with incredible stamina and body strength. It's clear he works on that physique all year long, but in terms of match fitness, his and all players' base of durability and flexibility comes from pre-season, and Ronaldo missed out on that this summer.
A period of intensive work, a mini pre-season programme of his own with new fitness coach Antonio Pintus, would have made an enormous difference to how he started off competitively. As ever, the rush to get Ronaldo back weighed heavily, though, and only 20 days after first returning to training, Ronaldo was back in the starting XI.
Undoubtedly, he would have undergone fitness work at the same time as ball work and late-stage rehabilitation post-injury, but the opportunity was there to give him even an extra week away from the pitch—and was passed up.
Carrying Too Many
Ronaldo isn't a player anyone could ever say Real Madrid didn't need, but the truth is they were handling his absence well. Any great player is a loss to their team when injured, but just as rivals Barcelona coped with Lionel Messi's absence last autumn, so too did Madrid in August.
Marco Asensio shot to stardom with a starting role, the team was balanced tactically and confidence was high after the manner of the UEFA Super Cup win over Sevilla. Los Blancos would have been just fine if Ronaldo had also sat out the Osasuna game as well.
The team couldn't win every game this season with or without Ronaldo, and after a run of victories at the start of 2016/17, there was always going to be a drop-off at some stage, but it's not coincidental it has come immediately after the return of not just Ronaldo but also Karim Benzema.
The forward line has long been a completely critical part of Real Madrid's approach to games, overwhelming and overpowering opponents by mere goalscoring capacity at times. And with neither Ronaldo nor Benzema firing on all cylinders, the final third has, in each of the past four games, lacked its usual incision and aura of unstoppability.
Add in necessary midfield rotations and a defence that is nowhere near the finished article, and the attacking line has been needed more than ever yet hasn't been able to deliver.
"Ronaldo hopeless and Zidane takes off Bale. Bottle job again...
— Craig Burley (@CBurleyESPN) September 21, 2016"
Ronaldo has been a part of that, and several onlookers noted that Zidane should have replaced him against Villarreal on Wednesday.
Finishing Touch and Upsurge
The Real No. 7 may have two goals in four games this term, but he should comfortably have double that, and a peak-sharpness Ronaldo would likely have even more.
A late run and shot against Villarreal wasn't cleanly struck, he hit the post against Sporting from all of two yards out and his one-on-one chance against Las Palmas was saved, rebounding to Benzema, who then netted Real's second goal.
All of those chances are near-certs to hit the back of the net with Ronaldo anywhere close to best form, but perhaps his early chance against the Canary Island side showed just how badly his timing and balance are off at present.
It was a classic central Ronaldo run into the box for a cutback in space, and in any other game, any other week, there's simply no way he doesn't bury a firm shot past the clutch of bodies in the six-yard box. But on this occasion, his first touch deserted him. The ball was caught under his feet, and the defence had time to react, close in and make a block.
Three weeks from now, it'll be a different story. But until then, Zidane has to remain strong and continue to make the tactical decisions that suit the team.
It won't be long, and the one-in-two strike rate will become far closer to one per 90 minutes again. Ronaldo is already rattling in the shots at goal at a rate of four per game, per WhoScored.com, lower than might be expected once he plays the full 90 minutes in games more frequently—and more importantly, the clinical, lethal edge to his shooting will also be there.
For now, though, with Ronaldo still a few games away from that level, the tactical decisions to protect the team must be taken. Zidane was right to put Lucas Vazquez, a more defensively diligent wide option, on the pitch. And he was right to remove Ronaldo, who had, in fairness, had a shocker against Las Palmas. Every player is entitled to them, especially those recovering from reasonably serious injuries.
It didn't pay off against Las Palmas, and the fallout for Zidane will be exaggerated because of it—but it was an issue with the weakness of the defence that cost the two points, not the substitution of Ronaldo.
He'll be back, and soon, but until his top form returns, Zidane's interests lie in protecting the structure of the team, not the personality of his forward.
