La Liga Scoring Race 2015-16: No Need to Worry About Cristiano Ronaldo's Scoreless Drought
5-0. Real Madrid's triumphant bounce back from its woeful opening week was an emphatic one, with the team's attack on brilliant display. Possession was dominated. Shots on goal heavily favored Los Blancos, and there was a "wow" factor to nearly every single goal. From James Rodríguez's flashy displays to the team passing on Karim Benzema's to the perfect timing of both Gareth Bale strikes, it was a momentous game for Madrid's offense and Rafa Benítez. Even Sergio Ramos almost got in on the act with an overhead kick that rattled the bar.
On the other end of the pitch, Keylor Navas made two incredible saves, including a penalty stop that kept the clean sheet.
All was perfect in Madrid.
At least for all but one man.
A 5-0 score line for Los Blancos is almost always sure to include one name: Cristiano Ronaldo.
And yet, on this occasion it failed to.
Ronaldo was left off the scoresheet for the second straight game, something that would usually be a chilling sight from the superstar.
You can already hear the voices wondering whether he fits in Rafa Benítez's system. Or how selfish he is for trying to do it all alone in the opener, not passing to Gareth Bale more than once in the first match of the year. Or how he does little when he is not scoring and has finally started his decline at the age of 30. How the team has found new main men in Bale and Rodríguez.
That would be fine and all, except it is not true and does not make sense.
For those worrying about the lack of goals through two games, don't.
It is interesting to note that Ronaldo has actually often struggled to score his first goal for his club at the start of the year. While he scored in his first league game for Los Blancos ever in 2009-10, it took Ronaldo three games to score a goal for Madrid in 2010-11, and that tally was from a penalty; his first goal from open play came in the fifth game of the year. Ronaldo ended that year with 40 goals in 34 La Liga games. He won the Pichichi award that season.
The following year saw him score a hat trick in the opener, but in 2012-13, Ronaldo was shut out until week three. He had 34 goals in 34 La Liga games and 55 across all competitions.
In 2013-14 he had to wait until match day three to get his first goal as well, and finished that season with 51 goals in all competitions and 31 La Liga tallies while winning the Pichichi. He also broke the record for most goals in a single Champions League season, and also lifted that trophy while winning the Ballon d'Or and helping Portugal qualify for the World Cup.
Last year he got things rolling right away, but Ronaldo has failed to score his first goal in the first two games of a La Liga season on four different occasions in his seven year run with Real Madrid; he has scored 50 goals or more in the last five of those seasons.
Moreover, when he finally gets that goal, the floodgates open for him. In 2010-11, he scored 15 goals in the 10 games following his first goal of the season, four games into the year.
In 2012-13 he scored two in one game to open his account and then scored 10 goals in the following 10 games for a Madrid team that had a record of 7-1-2 (a poor record for Madrid these days over a 10 run stretch).
In 2013-14, he scored 14 in his ensuing 10.
What does this all add up to?
Do not worry about Ronaldo. He will be fine. He will eventually find the back of the net and score another 40-50 goals.
He may not be as versatile as he was during those prime years, but the two games thus far do not show any major diminishing of skills. He created some scoring chances in the opener despite showing some rust. If he would have followed that game with a poor effort against Real Betis, then there would be a major reason for concern.
He was not involved in any of the build up to the five goals, but he led the team with five shots on goal. In a surprising twist, he hit the target with two free kicks but was denied by goalie Antonio Adán on both attempts. He also had a terrific attempt facilitated by his dribbling around the defender; that he failed was the result of another good stop from the keeper. He had another attempt saved as well and was truly unlucky not to score on a night, where every other shot from his teammates was either finding the twine or hitting the post.
Now if he can coexist with Bale is a big question. Bale, as the number 10, is being given preferential treatment to lead the attack. It is working out for now, but that should not stop Ronaldo from being his fearsome best. After all, the penalties will come and he will take those. He scored 13 a year ago from the spot and will continue to rack up those goals. In 2011-12, when he scored 55 in all competitions, Benzema had 32 goals and Gonzalo Higuaín had 26. In 2013-14 he had 51, while Bale had 22 and Benzema had 24. None of those guys has ever scored 35 goals or more over an entire season in all competitions; Ronaldo has done it six times in his career. Do not expect that to suddenly stop.
All this adds up to the fact that at some point Ronaldo will find his goals and they will come in bunches. He will lead this team in goals by the end of the year barring a major injury. However, if he has more goal support, as indicated by the opening game of the year, then Real Madrid should be poised for a major trophy haul by the end of the year.
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