Some of Europe’s star players are in a serious goal drought this season forcing fans everywhere to question what is going on. Luis Suarez (3), Cristiano Ronaldo (1), Antoine Griezmann (2) and Karim Benzema (1) have all struggled to score in league play. It is now November and the lack of production in front of goal has had fans beginning to worry. As crazy as it may seem, it’s not time to panic for some of these players just yet.
Suarez and Barcelona are leading La Liga mostly thanks to the insane start of the season by Lionel Messi. On the other hand, Cristiano and Real Madrid are a distant third place with danger of finishing second in their Champions League group. Griezmann’s Atletico is in fourth place in La Liga and with a foot and a half in Europa League. Benzema has turned into a scapegoat in Real Madrid and most fans want him gone. In a sport where fans have zero tolerance at times, it’s hard to find a fanbase that is logical yet unbiased.
Don’t Panic… Yet
Cristiano Ronaldo: He’s one of the best goalscorers I’ve ever seen and we all know what he’s capable of. At this stage in his career, he’s not the exciting winger that he used to be but he’s capable of bagging goals like no other. For a player like him, confidence takes a huge toll on his performance. The longer Cristiano goes without scoring, the worse his attitude gets and gets mentally frustrated with himself. Crazy to believe that a player with six Champions League goals this season is putting all that pressure on himself. At the end of the day, we know what Cristiano is capable of. Like any other goalscorer, all he needs is a goal to lose that pressure and the goals will begin to flow once again. Plus, Cristiano is more than capable of scoring in big games whether or not he’s in great form. I wouldn’t think too much of it.
Luis Suarez: Suarez has always been a player that misses the easiest opportunities but responds by scoring an absolute banger right after. The fact that he is still creating those chances and putting himself in a good position to score is a very great sign. Like Cristiano, Suarez tends to put pressure on himself and can mentally check out of a game easily. We’ve seen this before during his first season. In that instance, it took him until February to get going. That scissor kick against Levante got his confidence going and he never looked back.
Barcelona’s manager, Ernesto Valverde, has stated that he’s not worried about Suarez because he’s still creating those chances for himself. However, I think that Suarez should not be an undisputed starter in the meantime. Some friendly competition with Paco Alcacer for that starting position could help. Overall, I am not super concerned with Suarez mostly because he is still getting those chances and I’m sure the goals will come eventually.
Begin To Panic
Antoine Griezmann: Griezmann has been Atletico’s main scorer for the last few seasons and the Griezmann-dependency has came back to haunt them. Atletico has scored just one goal in Champions League and is averaging 1.5 goals per game in league play. Griezmann is tied for third most goals in the team with Thomas Partey (a CDM) and Koke (another midfielder). The difference between Griezmann’s drought compared to Suarez and Cristiano’s is the influence he has in the game without scoring. Cristiano and Suarez are still capable of creating opportunities for their teammates and influence the game. Griezmann on the other hand, has had various games where he simply looks lost. Offensively, the team depends on him much more than Barcelona and Real Madrid depend on CR7 and Suarez. Meaning, if Griezmann can’t score, Atletico can’t score. Lack of goals and lack of production by Griezmann should be alarming for Atletico at this point. The addition of Diego Costa will help them but he will need to get back into shape which could take some time. Even worse, by the time Costa can play, Atletico could potentially be out of Champions League and with the league practically lost.
Full panic mode:
Karim Benzema: I can no longer sugarcoat his situation. Benzema needs to be sold out of Madrid quickly. It seems as if instead of helping out the team, Benzema drags the team down whenever he’s in the game. Unlike Suarez, he doesn’t put himself in positions to score or to benefit the team. He tends to blow the few golden chances that he gets. Also, his connection with Cristiano up top hasn’t been what we’re accustomed to in recent years. One of the things that I liked about Benzema was his ability to create. Poor first touches and miscommunication with the rest of his team has truly affected the team in critical moments. If I’m Zidane, I put Cristiano at the 9 when playing a 4-3-3 or play Bale (when healthy) up top with Cristiano if playing with two up top. If Benzema can’t score or produce, Real Madrid have no choice but to replace him. It’s that simple.
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