Cristiano Ronaldo suspension: How much have Real Madrid missed him?

Cristiano Ronaldo will finally make his first La Liga appearance of the season on Wednesday, as he returns from his five-game suspension for pushing a referee. Real Madrid have missed him, writes Peter Smith…

Real’s star man was sent off in the Spanish Super Cup first leg clash with Barcelona on August 13.

Aggrieved at being punished for taking his shirt off in celebration of his goal and then receiving a second yellow for simulation, Ronaldo – who had only come on as a second-half sub – shoved referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea.
Real boss Zinedine Zidane hit out at the length of the subsequent ban but it was a thoughtless action from the Portuguese – and his team-mates have dropped valuable points in La Liga without him.
Ronaldo played just seven minutes in his side’s European Super Cup win over Manchester United and Real Madrid eased to a 2-0 second leg victory over Barcelona to lift the Spanish Super Cup 5-1 on aggregate, suggesting the club had the artillery in their ranks to cover the loss of their key man.

However, after an opening weekend 3-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna, back-to-back draws at home to Valencia and Levante, in which Real could have done with Ronaldo’s supreme finishing ability, proved costly, prior to Sunday’s win at Real Sociedad.

With Barcelona recovering from that Super Cup setback to record a 100 per cent record in the league, Real already find themselves four points adrift of their arch rivals.
That needn’t have been the case. Real created a huge number of chances in the two games they drew but failed to capitalize on their great openings. They really should be level-pegging with Barcelona, with a perfect record of their own.
According to Opta, Karim Benzema had six ‘big chances’ against Valencia. ‘Big chances’ are defined as chances a striker would reasonably be expected to score. Benzema blew all of them. Against Levante, Gareth Bale wasted three ‘big chances’ of his own and was jeered by the home fans as a result.
That is uncharacteristic wastefulness from those two players. Both Benzema (scored 10, missed nine) and Bale (scored five, missed two) had positive ratios when it came to converting ‘big chances’ last season. But their untimely profligacy in front of goal this term has coincided with the moment Zidane needed them to take up the burden.

With Bale and now-injured Benzema out of sorts, Alvaro Morata sold to Chelsea and young Borja Mayoral thrown in, Real’s firepower has been lacking with Ronaldo suspended. Ronaldo’s double in the 3-0 Champions League win against APOEL Nicosia – where his suspension didn’t apply – underlined the point.
„They have missed Cristiano, partly because the chances were being created but the goals weren’t going in,“ explains Sky Sports’ Spanish football expert Guillem Balague. „Of course any team in the world would miss Cristiano Ronaldo – especially his finishing.

„Real have many styles of play – they can play on the counter or with possession – but they always need that killer finisher at the top.

„They have enough quality to survive without him – they would still be contenders if he was missing – but with him they are guaranteed close to 40 goals [in all competitions].“

Real Madrid have lamented their loss. Zidane once again described Ronaldo as „the best in the world“ while he was out, while midfielder Marcos Llorente said the team needed him against Levante.
Ronaldo himself, will no doubt be champing at the bit to return on Wednesday night. As well as his Champions League appearance, he has kept himself ticking over with a World Cup qualifier hat-trick against the Faroe Islands for Portugal, but he will be craving regular top-flight football.

And it will not have escaped his attention that while he’s been sitting on the sidelines in La Liga, Barcelona’s Lionel Messi has scored five goals already this season and has a handy head start in his bid to retain his top scorer’s prize.

Ronaldo and Real Madrid have some catching up to do – and Wednesday night’s opponents Real Betis could feel the full force of the returning forward.Euro Soccer Bonus

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