Real Madrid and Barcelona faced off on Saturday night in a pre-season Clasico, although the match was anything but friendly. It was the latter that ran out victorious by a rather convincing 3-0 scoreline, with Ousmane Dembele, Fermin Lopez and Ferran Torres scoring.
However, the score did not tell the full story. Real Madrid had multiple big chances during the match, none more so than they were awarded a penalty soon after Dembele’s opener. Vinicius Junior took it, and unfortunately for Los Blancos, his effort struck the crossbar and went over.
Real Madrid struck the woodwork on no less than four occasions, and how they failed to score is anyone’s guess. However, as pointed out by Diario AS, it did highlight how crucial a natural number nine could be.
Granted, it was only a pre-season friendly, so the result does not particularly matter, it could be that Real Madrid find themselves in a similar situation when the seasons begins in last than two weeks’ time, in that they are unable to take big chances when they are presented.
A natural goalscorer probably scores at least one of their chances from Saturday, such as the recently-departed Karim Benzema, so it’s not unwise to say that Real Madrid should be doing everything to ensure they sign one before the end of the summer transfer window.
Real Madrid have been heavily linked with signing Kylian Mbappe, and a deal could be completed this summer, despite the club’s preference to sign the 24-year-old as a free agent when his Paris Saint-Germain contract expires at the end of the upcoming season.
Mbappe would be a big signing for Real Madrid, and on the basis of Saturday night, there is certainly an argument to suggest that they should just pay the money that PSG are asking for to ensure that he does indeed join.
If Mbappe were to join, it would be interesting to see whether Ancelotti sticks with the 4-4-2 diamond that he has been trialling during pre-season, or if he reverts back to the 4-3-3 that he has long been synonymous with.
There’s no doubt that Real Madrid have one of the best squads in world football, but they could struggle to play to their potential if a natural goalscorer is not signed. They have so many incredible chance creators, such as Vinicius, Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham, so they should be scoring plenty of goals.
It remains to be seen whether Real Madrid act on the back on Saturday’s match. Ancelotti has reportedly been asking for a new star striker all summer long, and onlookers can see why.