On the pitch, Benzema appeared to have frozen, and it seemed that his football was also affected by the plummeting temperatures of January 2021. This is bad news for Real Madrid, as Benzema is the benchmark for Real Madrid to face the opposing goal and is the most decisive player in the team. This is an unquestionable reality, as Real Madrid have scored 37 goals this season, of which 32.4% (12) were scored by Benzema.
But then Benzema took on the Spanish Super Cup with disturbing stats. In the last three games, he has repeated a "devastating" statistic: "triple zero": he didn't score, didn't assist, didn't even shoot on target.
Elche, Celta and Osasuna left the French striker unable to pose a threat. Facing Elche, the rest of Real Madrid's players created a threat. Only 2 shots on goal against Celta Real Madrid but scored 2 goals. Against Osasuna, Real Madrid's only shot was made by Asensio in the 48th minute.
Benzema's disappearance on the pitch is a novelty in the second phase of Zidane's coaching team. After the era of Solari and Lopetegui, Benzema did not have a "triple zero" situation. At that time, he had not scored, assisted or scored in six consecutive games. In the first stage of Zidane's coaching, Benzema had 7 consecutive games of "triple zero".
However, at that time, Real Madrid had Cristiano Ronaldo, and the Portuguese superstar could guarantee a goal. This is not the case now. There are no other scorers around Benzema, and during the French player's downturn, Real Madrid had no players to provide. Behind The team's top scorer list are Casemiro and Modric, who scored four goals, which is absolutely abnormal for a team like Real Madrid to fight for various titles.
The team can't score without a second scorer. It is enough to look at the situation of the European giants: at Bayern, goals are Lewandowski's business (23 goals). But behind him there is Müller, who scored nine goals. At Juve, behind Cristiano Ronaldo (18 goals) is Morata (10 goals). Paris Saint-Germain have Mbappe and Neymar; Barcelona have Messi and Griezmann; Atletico have Suarez and Felix; Liverpool have Salah and Sane. The only example similar to Real Madrid is Manchester City.
This problem is not temporary, but recurring. Last season, Real Madrid's second-top scorer was centre-back Ramos. Among the forward players, rodrigo scored the most goals, with the Brazilian scoring seven. This number is low. If you look at the history of Real Madrid strikers, you can only find similar statistics until the 1991-92 season. That season, Real Madrid's top scorer was Fernando Hiero (25 goals). Behind him is Butragueño (20 goals) and the next most goal-scoring striker is Alfonso (5 goals).
This season, with Jovic not on track, Mariano playing in the final minutes, Hazard has yet to find form, Rodrigo is injured, Venicius is lost and Asensio seems to be the only way for a Real Madrid striker to contribute a goal.
This is where Real Madrid must improve. Although Benzema almost always appears, sometimes, as in the present, he also falls into a low. Without help he became a black hole.