14.01.2019 » How much does Real Madrid really misses Ronaldo?
We are now exactly halfway through the 2018/19 La Liga campaign and Real Madrid find themselves 10 points below leaders Barcelona. They have managed just 28 goals in 19 games, while Barça have banged in 53, as Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi have wreaked havoc throughout the campaign. Meanwhile, Real Madrid are marooned in fourth place, with a similar record to Alaves, and they are massive underdogs in the battle to win the title. It shows just how much they are missing Cristiano Ronaldo, who has inspired his new team, Juventus, to an almost perfect start to their Serie A season.
Cristiano Ronaldo - Goodbye Madrid:
Madrid played with fire..
In mitigation, Juventus typically blow away the opposition in a somewhat uncompetitive Italian top flight, and they have won the title for the past seven seasons in a row. Real Madrid are also often guilty of making a sluggish start to their domestic campaign, but they seem to come good in the latter stages of the Champions League and all is forgiven. There is still time for them to turn their season around. The departure of manager Zinedine Zidane is also a large contributing factor for their struggles. But it is hard to escape the notion that this team would look so much more dangerous with the great man leading the line.
If you were to scan the best betting sites and find the best football futures odds, you would see a picture that speaks volumes about Ronaldo's departure from the club. Juventus are the third favourites to win the Champions League, priced at 6/1, despite being handed an extremely tricky last 16 draw against an ultra-competitive Atletico Madrid side. Meanwhile, Real Madrid received a much easier draw against Ajax, but they are still all the way out at 12/1.
Bookmakers have all but stopped taking bets on Juventus winning Serie A, as they remain unbeaten at the halfway stage in the season, with 17 wins and two draws from 19 games. In that time, Ronaldo has fired in 14 goals. He is on course to become the first Juventus player to win the league’s Golden Boot award since Alessandro Del Piero in 2007-08. They have been Serie A's most successful club in that time, and possessed fantastic strikers like Gonzalo Higuain, but none have been named Capocannoniere.
Ronaldo's attitude takes any team to the next level
In Spain, Real Madrid are out at 16/1 to win the title, while Barcelona are just 1/10. Even Atletico have shorter odds than Real, as Diego Simeone's men are five points clear of their more vaunted neighbours. You will not find a single Real Madrid player in the chart of the top 10 scorers in La Liga so far this season. Their most proficient striker has been Karim Benzema, who has scored just seven times. His supposed heir apparent, Gareth Bale, has only found the back of the net four times in the league. The Welshman can turn it on at times, but he lacks Cristiano Ronaldo's consistency.
A lot of that is down to Ronaldo's sheer desire to win. He is driven by a relentless hunger to be the very best, and he demands the same of his teammates. Bale lacks that unremitting attitude towards achieving greatness, and Real look a bit lost without their spiritual leader. Sergio Ramos commands the team well from the back, but Ronaldo was the man they would always look to in order to settle tight games with a flash of brilliance. Juventus, for all their recent trophies, have not won Europe's top prize for many a year, largely because Ronaldo was always thwarting them. They have signed him in a bid to finally make that next step, and it would surprise nobody if they pulled it off.
Real Madrid have been left with a huge hole in their team and they need to splash some serious cash if they are to become a potent attacking force once more. Ronaldo is a one of a kind, totally irreplaceable, and his greatness is proved just as much in his absence as it was when he was running the show at the Bernebéu.
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Juventus is on January 16 of 2019 against AC Milan. You can watch Juventus vs AC Milan, Leganes vs Real Madrid, Barcelona vs Levante, Manchester City vs Wolverhampton, Stoke City vs Shrewsbury Town, and Luton Town vs Sheffield Wednesday, all matches provided from our football live game pages.
Juventus next game:
Juventus vs AC Milan kick-off time (16-01-2019):
Beijing (China) | UTC/GMT+8: 01:30
Jakarta (Indonesia) | UTC/GMT+7: 00:30
India (New Delhi) | UTC/GMT+5.30: 23:00
Italy (Turin) | UTC/GMT+1: 18:30
Spain (Madrid) | UTC/GMT+1: 18:30
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | UTC/GMT+0: 17:30
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | UTC/GMT-3: 14:30
New York (United States) | UTC/GMT-4: 13:30
Los Angeles (United States) | UTC/GMT-7: 10:30
Sources: ronaldo7.net / standard.co.uk / rediff.com
