Replacing Cristiano Ronaldo has turned out to be harder than expected by Real Madrid

When Real Madrid sold Cristiano Ronaldo in July, supporters and local media all asked the same question: how do you replace it?

Ronaldo was Real's top scorer, scoring 451 goals in 438 competitive matches. He led the club to four titles in the Champions League among the last five available and was invariably the man who pulled himself out of the game with a scoreless goal from the moment they needed them the most. hero.

The message from the inside of the club, however, is that they did not need to make a "Galactico" dip in the transfer market and that the answer was already within the 'team. Gareth Bale, signed in 2013 for a world record of 85.3 million pounds sterling ($ 109.12 million) after Tottenham Hotspur following an extended public hearing, had long been marked by the President of Real , Florentino Perez, who would succeed Ronaldo.

It was also suggested that French striker Karim Benzema would be released from chains that many Portuguese thought had imposed on him and that he could finally play as a central striker. Then there was Marco Asensio. The 22-year-old is arguably the most prominent player in Spanish football and was destined to take a place in the top three. Farewell to the trident & # 39; BBC & # 39; (Bale, Benzema, Cristiano), hello to the "BBA".

Things have started well. Real had four wins and one draw in their first five La Liga matches. The trio scored eight of 12 goals scored, while Roma were sidelined in their first match of the Champions League group stage. Bale watched the business, while Benzema threatened to become a scoring machine.

However, after September's 1-0 win over Espanyol, Real played five games without a win – a race in which he played eight hours and a minute. without marking. While the young Asensio can be forgiven for having had its ups and downs, Bale was the victim of one of the many wounds that marked his pbadage in the Spanish capital and Benzema seemed to be in danger. shadow of an attacker capable of leading the line for the champions of Europe. [19659002] It was the kind of thing that had never happened when Ronaldo was at the club. It is no coincidence that Real has had his most barren run in terms of wins and goals since his arrival just before the Portuguese joined the club in 2009.

They went in the seventh place of La Liga, behind the new promotion of Valladolid, and the pressure is strong The new coach Julen Lopetegui, who, when he took over the club, would have considered that Ronaldo is a key element of his team.

With Clasico, Sunday, the first in 11 years that will feature neither the Portuguese nor Lionel Messi, Barcelona. It's up to Real to prove that life after Ronaldo does exist. A defeat would only intensify the storm clouds on the Bernabeu.