In the early morning of October 1, Real Madrid had their first home match in La Liga 2020-21, with a 1-0 victory over Real Valladolid. The Royal team still maintains an unbeaten record at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium (a stadium used since returning after the COVID-19 blockade), but problems are still there.
In this match, goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was voted the best goalkeeper because his saves kept Real Madrid from conceding, but he could have been more leisurely if the strikers had done better work at the other end.
Does Zidane trust Jovic or what is behind it?
Coach Zinedine Zidane did not remove Luka Jovic's name as many predicted before the match. Instead, he continued to start with Karim Benzema. Although he did not score, compared to the Serbian striker himself in the match against Real Betis last weekend, there was a clear change.
It can be seen that Zidane's inclusion of Jovic in the starting lineup, whether he fully believes in it or not, has had a certain impact on this 22-year-old player. He confidently held the ball, coordinated and finished. In 58 minutes of play, he even scored more goals than Benzema. To be honest, it was not until Jovic left the pitch that Benzema started to return as a factor receiving the passes. But that is also the problem of Zidane and Real Madrid.
5 days before the transfer market closed, Real Madrid had 4 strikers in the squad. Zidane kept saying, until the end, anything could have happened. Benzema Of course did not go anywhere, the remaining 3 people including Jovic, Mariano Diaz and Borja Mayoral are still unclear about their destination and stay.
In the last 2 matches using Jovic, has Zidane started to choose patience with him? Or is it a technical experiment for Benzema? It can be seen that Benzema is somewhat unhappy when having to share space with another partner in front of goal, especially when Jovic has the best opportunities but cannot take advantage.
There are rumors that Manchester United are looking to borrow Jovic, while Real Madrid could bring Edinson Cavani on a free transfer. Zidane wants Benzema to get used to giving up the "stage" as he did with Cristiano Ronaldo?
That is of course just a matter of speculation, but watching the French striker in 3 rounds, Zidane have to worry about scoring must be put at a high level of warning. In 87 minutes against Valladolid, Benzema finished 3 times, in 90 minutes against Betis he finished 4 times, and against Real Sociedad, he also finished 4 times in the whole match. No goals.
Currently, Eden Hazard is still injured and it is not known when he will return to form, Vinicius Junior only brings street emotional football with superficial shots, or Marco Asensio cannot expect regular goals, only Benzema is still too few. If Zidane starts to be patient with Jovic, it would not be surprising, because compared to Mayoral and Diaz, he has much more potential.
Jovic needs to play regularly, goals will come, but Zidane also needs Benzema to understand that, at the age of 32, he is not the type of striker like Ronaldo to carry everything alone.
Real Madrid's playing style is being criticized as "blatant" and it partly stemmed from the lack of goals created. Therefore, a change from everyone will be needed, from Zidane to Benzema, Jovic, Hazard, Vinicius, because the White Vultures will not be able to rely on Courtois or Sergio Ramos forever...
