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Barely one month into the season, Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo (aka BBC) are at it again. The deadly trio of Real Madrid have already notched up 13 goals and 4 assists in 4 games, including back-to-back hat-tricks for Cristiano Ronaldo. In doing so, they have sounded out the bugle to Barcelona and, particularly, to their forward line of Messi, Suarez and Neymar.
MSN (Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar), though, know better than to be overawed by the situation. The Blaugrana trio were similarly eclipsed by their Madridista counterparts in the beginning of last season. We all know what happened next. While Messi and co. led their team to a historic quadruple, Real Madrid’s season derailed in spectacular fashion, eventually ending trophyless and resulting in the sacking of coach Carlo Ancelotti.
This begs the question: will we see a repeat of last season this time around as well? Or are BBC ready to take Los Blancos over the finishing line come May 2016? More importantly, which members of these two lethal trios will play a defining role in tipping the battle in their favour?
Battle starts with Messi and Ronaldo
The first and foremost battle-within-the-battle will be between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The two have constantly downplayed rivalry between them recently. Having said that, Messi would want to wrest the title of FIFA Ballon D’Or back from Ronaldo, while Ronaldo himself must have set eyes on a trophy-laden season with Los Merengues.
The creative brilliance of Messi gives him a slight edge when it comes to setting up goalscoring chances for Neymar and Suarez. But Ronaldo’s athleticism, predatory instincts and ambition have turned him into a goalscoring machine who expects to finish even half-chances coming his way.
The line separating strengths from weaknesses, however, often gets blurred when it comes to these two. Messi invariably matches Ronaldo when it comes to scoring, and Ronaldo too is perfectly capable of racking up key passes and assists.
Crucial though they are to their teams, the extraordinary abilities of Messi and Ronaldo mean they will match each other in terms of performances. Unless one of them suffers an unlikely dip in form or an even more unlikely injury, they might not be the decisive factor in the race between the two trios.
The competition between Neymar and Bale may well be the turning point in this respect.
Will the ‘Real’ Bale please stand up?
It was easy to feel sorry for Gareth Bale in 2014/15. After tormenting teams in the Premier League on the left wing and, in his last season at Tottenham, in a central attacking role, the Welshman was drafted into the right wing of Madrid’s starting eleven. On paper, the move made sense; with his pace, strength and lethal left foot, Bale would be Ronaldo’s counterpart on the right wing, both ably assisted by the selfless play of Benzema.
His weaknesses on the right wing came to light last season. Bale was often found wanting of both agility as well as attacking instincts to get past defenders. The pressing nature of La Liga defenders would restrict him to his weaker right foot and left him devoid of venom. As the season progressed, Bale looked more and more isolated on the right wing, disconnected from Benzema and Ronaldo except when he was providing square passes for simple tap-ins.
Compare this situation with Neymar, who was already playing on the left wing at Santos before arriving at Camp Nou. Unlike Bale, Neymar possesses all the qualities required to become a successful inverted winger. And his forward runs are ably assisted by Messi from the opposite wing, something Bale can rarely expect from Ronaldo.
In a battle of two trios where the two talismanic players (Messi and Ronaldo) and the selfless centre-forwards playing second fiddle to them (Suarez and Benzema) are in deadlock, unlocking the full potential of Neymar and Bale remains key. As of now, it seems that Barcelona and M-S-N are winning on that front.
Rafael Benitez, though, has other ideas.
The role of Rafael Benitez
Since his arrival in June, the first priority of Benitez has been to get the best out of Bale. The Spanish tactician has ditched Ancelotti’s 4-3-3 and deployed Bale in a free role behind the striker, keeping Ronaldo on his favoured left side.
The move has had encouraging results so far. Bale’s positioning in the centre means James Rodriguez will dictate play from the right wing where the Colombian will drift in and find three world-class forwards to thread passes to.
It also caters much more to the Bale’s attacking strengths. When operating from a central position, the Welsh winger can make overlapping runs at will and properly utilize his shooting, crossing and heading abilities – evident in the 5-0 win over Real Betis.
Most significant, though, is the mouth-watering prospect of BBC linking up more than ever before. Benitez has perhaps realized that Real Madrid’s frontline, unlike Barca’s, were not self-sufficient. They relied more on their midfielders for creating chances and were slightly one-dimensional in that respect.
Benitez’s system, on the other hand, allows quick interplay among Real’s front three and will ensure BBC can start and end moves all by themselves, especially on counter-attacks. Not only does this ensure decimation of your average La Liga team, but also is an effective tactic against possession-based teams in the Champions League such as Bayern Munich and Barcelona.
The Verdict
| MSN | Goals/Assists | Goals/Assists | BBC |
|---|---|---|---|
| Messi | 43/18 | 48/16 | C.Ronaldo |
| Suarez | 16/14 | 15/10 | Benzema |
| Neymar | 22/7 | 13/9 | Bale |
| Total | 81/39 | 76/35 | Total |
The destruction unleashed by MSN as well as BBC on defences across Europe in the season gone by has been hitherto unseen. While the numbers are too close to predict a clear winner, watching both of them in action made it clear why one of them won the Champions League while the other ended up trophyless.
The chemistry between Messi, Suarez and Neymar was pivotal to their success – it provided an X-factor which made this frontline more than the sum of its parts. Their synchronized movements, selfless nature of play and keeping the team’s interests above individual recognition was reflective of Barcelona’s anti-Galactico philosophy – a team built through years of teamwork, rather than assembled by big money.
Rafael Benitez would do well to inspire his own trio to these levels, which might require Bale settling into his new role, Benzema minimizing his occasional-but-frustrating dips in goal-scoring form and Ronaldo playing more for the team. His shrewd tactics and Los Merengues’ hunger for winning their first La Liga crown in four years might spur BBC to new heights and become the most potent forward line of Europe this season.
Until then, MSN remain the trio to beat.
