El Clasico: Barcelona Thrash Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo Still Struggling

The Real Madrid forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, continues to struggle in front of goal as their Catalan neighbors win 3-0 at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid is fourth on the league table and losing to Barcelona leaves them 14-points behind their bitter rivals.

At the top of the table is Barcelona with 45 points after 17 games followed by Atletico Madrid with 36 points. Valencia is third on the table with 34 points, followed by Real Madrid with 31-points, both Valencia and Real Madrid have played 16 matches.

Real Madrid continues with their poor form in the league this season even after winning the Club World Cup recently. Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 53 goals in 2017 so far while Messi has 54 but stats can be deceiving. The forward is the highest goal scorer in the champions league this season with nine goals but has only four goals to his name in the Spanish league. Madrid could only manage five shots on target compared to Barcelona’s 12 shots on target. Barcelona also had a larger share of the ball with 53 percent possession to 47 percent for Madrid.

After proclaiming himself the best player in history according to a Bleacher report on December 8, 2017. The forward seems a shadow of himself in front of goal. Cristiano is known for his potency in front of goal but not this season. After going one goal down, things got worse for Madrid when Carvajal was sent off for handling the ball in the box giving Barcelona a penalty that was neatly converted by Messi. There were no hopes of a comeback with Real Madrid, one man down.

Ronaldo reportedly missed the final training with the team before the match. However, Coach Zinedine Zidane affirmed his fitness before the match. The forward is expected to sign a new deal and is reportedly asking to be the most paid player but putting his recent form in perspective it is hard to tell if the club will meet this demand. The home game against Barcelona was a test for the team who seem to play better in other competitions except for the league.

Madrid seems to be lacking a potent strike force at the moment with Benzema also struggling and Gareth Bale just joining the team after a lengthy injury. Real Madrid could look for replacements in front as the January transfer window opens. Goals from Suarez, Messi, and Vidal ensured that Barcelona remained at the summit of the league for the remainder of 2017.