Real Madrid‘s strike force is headed by two players considered to be among the 20 best in the world, if the Ballon d’Or rankings are anything to go by.
Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, who finished a joint-17th in the voting, have managed 10 La Liga goals between them so far, six for Benzema and four for Bale.
Goals were always going to be hard to come by after Cristiano Ronaldo‘s departure, but the drop-off has been stiff.
Even last season, which was a poor campaign by Madrid’s standards as their title defence ended with the side finishing a distant third, saw Los Blancos finish with 94 goals in the league. In contrast, their current pace has them set to finish the season with 57.
As if to drive the nail into the coffin, Barcelona‘s free-scoring form is showing how dire things have gotten at Madrid. The gap in the final standings between the two rivals may have been a whopping 17 points last season, but at least Madrid’s attack was nearly a match for Barca’s, with the league winners scoring 99, just five goals more.
This season, after 12 games the total for La Blaugrana is 46 – nearly twice that of Madrid’s. And in fact, Barca’s top two scorers are outscoring Los Blancos all by themselves.
Lionel Messi leads the league with 14 goals. Luis Suarez has 11, giving Barca’s front two a combined 25 goals. Madrid’s current total? 24.
