5 reasons why Real Madrid are struggling

#1 A failure to refresh a side in need of new blood

Real Madrid has failed to replace Ronaldo's goals

Almost everyone knew that Real Madrid will be in need of refreshing this season. The Champions League run last season papered over the cracks that were very visible in La Liga. The team finished in third but was a whopping 23 points behind league winners Barca.

It has become apparent that this was a problem that Zidane foresaw. It seems now that the former Ballon d’Or winner was not given the assurances that his demands for changes would be met.

Los Merengues’ summer activity saw the team reinforce positions that were not in need of immediate fixing: goalkeeper (Courtois) and right-back (Odriozola).

Vinicius Junior and the re-signing of Diaz from Lyon was the sum total of the attacking changes made. This was never going to be enough to replace the frightening tally that Ronaldo consistently set.

The constant rumours linking the likes of Eden Hazard, Mauro Icardi, Neymar, Mbappe and other star names turned out to be mere gossip. On this, Perez should bear the brunt of the blame as his pursuit of a marquee forward to replace CR7 meant that other less-popular attacking options that could have helped were ignored.