5 clubs which had the best bench strength in 2016/17

1) Real Madrid

Real Madrid are close to winning the double this season

One look at both Real Madrid and Barcelona will show that it is the capital club that has the better squad for the future. Although Barcelona won bragging rights in El Clasico, they have been carried by the brilliance of the MSN trio (Messi, Suarez and Neymar) for far too long and really need investment in their squad if they are to sustain a challenge on all fronts.

Real, on the other hand, have it covered with a number of players ready to step up if regular starters are not available. Zinedine Zidane has managed to succeed where many other managers have failed before – win over the dressing room (at least the majority of it).

Both Ancelotti and Rafa Benitez lost their jobs when they could not include Gareth Bale in their plans when he wasn’t fully fit. Zidane has been lucky that the Welshman’s injuries have restricted him to only 17 starts. And whether he got orders from above to play him in the Clasico or not, it was evident that he was never 100% as he hobbled off. But the French boss has managed to bring the best out of Isco as a result and the team actually looks better without an underperforming Bale in the lineup.

In midfield, Mateo Kovacic and Lucas Vazquez have performed exceptionally well while Marco Asensio has impressed so much across various roles in midfield and the wings that Bayern Munich’s technical director said they should commission a statue for the person who signed the 21-year-old for just €3.5m.

James Rodriguez, possibly playing in his last season at the Bernabeu, has also scored when it mattered. Pepe’s injury did not deter the side as Raphael Varane stepped up and even when he was injured there was Nacho to partner Sergio Ramos.

Up front, while Cristiano Ronaldo has reigned supreme, he has been supported by either Karim Benzema or Alvaro Morata who have been rotated by Zidane depending on the game. In all, 20 players have played more than 1,000 minutes in La Liga alone.

They are one point away from the La Liga title while Juventus await in the Champions League final as Real look to become the first team to defend the title in the UCL era.