La Liga Standings, News, Stats & Table: Real Madrid's Loss of James Rodriguez the Primary Reason for Slump in Spanish Premier League

By Damon Salvadore Mar 25 2015, 17:40 PM EDT

Real Madrid held a first place lead in the Spanish Premier League from Week 10 through Week 25.

They had already defeated Barcelona in the El Clasico in Week 9, and things couldn't look better.

Cristiano Ronaldo was on pace to score more than 50 goals, breaking Lionel Messi's record for most goals in a single La Liga season. Real Madrid was also on pace to break the record for most goals by any La Liga team in a season.

But, that all changed in Week 16. Real Madrid faced Sevilla on Feb. 4, and although they won the match, they suffered a much greater loss in the end. James Rodriguez left the game because of a fracture in his right foot, and still hasn't returned from that injury. In case you were wondering, Rodriguez did score in that match against Sevilla.

So how much of a negative impact has Rodriguez's injury had on Real Madrid? Well, let's take a look by the numbers.

Before the Rodriguez injury, Real Madrid had 18 wins, three losses and zero ties. Since losing Rodriguez, Real Madrid has three wins, three losses and one tie. That pretty much speaks for itself.

One of those losses even includes an embarrassing 4-0 beat down to Atletico Madrid in the Week 22 Madrid Derby. That was the very first game for Real Madrid without Rodriguez, after losing him to an injury just three days earlier. With Rodriguez in the starting lineup in Week 3, they lost to Atletico Madrid, 2-1. Still a loss, but obviously a much closer contest.

Without the 23-year-old Colombian superstar on the field last week, it was extremely difficult for the Real Madrid offense to get going against Barcelona's defense. Real Madrid was only able to get one goal past Claudio Bravo, but they scored three against Barcelona in Week 9 with Rodriguez.

Let's dig a little deeper into Real Madrid's struggles without Rodriguez with analytical statistics. In Real Madrid's first 21 games (with Rodriguez) they scored 70 goals. That's an average of 3.33 goals per game. However, it's been a much different story without him. In the last seven games (without Rodriguez) Real Madrid has scored just eight goals, barely more than a goal per game.

Cristiano Ronaldo is obviously one of the best players in the world, but even he needs his superstar midfielder out there to support him. What makes this timing so bad is that fact that Gareth Bale isn't exactly playing up to his contract, and fans are losing patience in him.

Barcelona now holds a four point edge in the La Liga standings, and they've won 10 of their last 11 games. The South American triplets of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez are playing like one of the greatest combination of players we've seen in recent memory. It will definitely take some luck to catch Barcelona this year with just 10 weeks remaining.

If Real Madrid doesn't get their act together, they could lose their second-place lead to Valencia, who is now just four points back. Coach Carlo Ancelotti would love to have Rodriguez back as soon as possible, but saving his health for the future and continuing to rest him may be a more wise decision.