5 reasons why Julen Lopetegui was destined to suffer as Real Madrid coach

#2 The curious decision to stick with Benzema as the first choice striker

Benzema is symbolic of Real Madrid's struggles in front of goal

Ronaldo's departure meant that Real would always struggle in front of goal, so it was not surprising when the club was linked with a host of big-name strikers such as Harry Kane and Mauro Icardi.

In scenes which shocked everyone, however, the club decided against pursuing any of them and shockingly chose to stick with Karim Benzema.

The 30-year-old Frenchman was once one of the most lethal strikers in Europe and banged in goals for fun to the benefit of Real Madrid, but those days are long gone, and the hard truth is that Benzema is no longer an elite striker and is only being condoned because of his past glory.

Benzema scored just 5 goals in 31 LaLiga matches last season, while he scored just 11 in 29 the season before. These are poor numbers for a striker at a club like Real Madrid and made a mockery of the world-class midfield services he received.

There were doubts expressed over his suitability to lead the Madrid line, and even though he began the season like a house on fire scoring five goals in his first four matches, he has shown that to be a false alarm and that his detractors were right all along.

He has scored just one goal since then, going on a run of eight matches without a goal in all competitions, and his profligacy in front of goal of goal was the major factor to making Madrid endure its worst run in front of goal since 1985, 465 minutes (almost eight hours of football) without a goal.

Goals are needed to win games, and sadly Benzema cannot guarantee them, hence the decision to stick with him as the main striker is one which all but guaranteed that Real would struggle to score goals and win matches this season.