In Defense of Real Madrid: Cristiano Ronaldo & BBC's Renewed Form Can Halt Barcelona's Trio in March 2016 Clasico; Los Blancos Win
My brother Francisco Salazar is on the Barcelona bandwagon for this game. Find out why here.
Barcelona is running away with La Liga and the winning record books and there is currently little that Real Madrid can do. Everything entering Saturday's fated Clasico seems to be stacked against Madrid's team, but is there any reason to believe that the team can truly compete at the Camp Nou, where it has struggled in recent years? Here are some reasons to believe that Madrid can win the 2:30 PM EST match at the Camp Nou this Saturday April 2.
The BBC
Barcelona's MSN trident has been far better than Madrid's, but the main reason has been due to health. The bottom line is that Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema have been struggling to remain healthy this season, knocking off their overall effectiveness throughout the middle of the season.
While the numbers favor the MSN, the BBC should actually be given a closer look. The MSN has actually scored a whopping 84 goals in 98 appearances together while the BBC has 80 in 85, highlighting that Los Blanco's trident scores more consistently. Some might argue that Ronaldo's own goalscoring skews this number, but the reality is that Bale and Benzema have goal per game averages of 0.71 and 0.92 respectively. Suarez's numbers come in at 0.91 when you only include La Liga and the Champions League while Neymar stands at 0.72. Those numbers are even more favorable to the BBC in la Liga with Bale (0.83), Benzema (0.95) and Ronaldo (0.93) actually being more consistent in front of goal that Suarez (0.92), Messi (0.88) and Neymar (0.80).
Ronaldo's Resurgence
While the BBC is crucial, one player has come to the forefront recently and looked prime for a major takeover - Cristiano Ronaldo.
The declining superstar had 13 goals in 16 games leading up to the Clasico and he only produced goals in seven of those matches.
Since that embarrassment, Ronaldo has slowed but surely turned it around, scoring 28 goals in 22 games; he has scored the goals across 15 of the 22 matches. Ronaldo is simply the best he has been all season and was all-world throughout the international break for Portugal. If Ronaldo continues building on that play, there is no doubt that he will be hungry to score against Barcelona.
He is also one goal away from becoming third all-time in Clasico scoring. Everyone knows he wants a piece of that record.
Zidane's Balance
When Los Blancos lost 4-0 at home under Rafa Benitez the midfield was a disaster with Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and James Rodriguez all sliding forward and leaving themselves completely exposed for a Barcelona break.
Zidane has recently found a way to balance that midfield, inserting Casemiro in behind Kroos and Modric at the sacrifice of Rodriguez. That has allowed the two midfielders to roam freely, knowing that they have a physical force ready to shut down Barcelona's potent midfield. The insertion of Casemiro alone has given Real Madrid a stronger midfield balance, something that has faltered heavily in the team's 4-3-3 makeup.
On a side note, Madrid's attack has been far more fluid under Zidane than it ever was under Benitez, something that will undeniably surprise Blaugrana.
Keylor Navas
The Costa Rican had a dreadful game in the Bernabeu last fall, but he has been Madrid's MVP all season long. He is undeniably the better goalie of the two in this matchup and is primed for some heroics in a game that will test his fortitude. Look for Navas to shine and potentially steal the game for Madrid.