5 things we've learned about Real Madrid so far this season

#3 BBC’s dominance is officially a thing of the past

Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo will go down as one of the greatest partnerships in football.

There used to be a time not so long ago, when the sight of Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo aka ‘BBC’ in Real Madrid’s attack sent shivers down the spine of most defences around the world and this fear was a well justified one.

After all, the trio formed one of the most potent attacking units the world has seen and their collective efforts had led Madrid to multiple victories in the past.

This season, though, the story has been a completely different story for Madrid and their famed trio. But to be honest, the writing has been on the wall for some time now.

One of the main reasons why BBC were so successful as a partnership was the blistering pace that both Bale and Ronaldo possessed along with Benzema’s sharpshooting abilities. But over the years, each one of their respective individual powers has waned.

While on one hand, Ronaldo has lost a lot of the pace that made him one of the best wingers of all time and subsequently, he has gone on to adopt a much more central position on the pitch in recent times.

And though this has undoubtedly aided his goalscoring record, he just hasn’t been able to live up to his ridiculously high standards this season.

Having said that, let's make it very clear that Ronaldo solely isn’t to be blamed for Madrid’s performances this season. The man has been single-handedly carrying Los Blancos on his shoulders for almost a decade now and that is a reason good enough to cut him some slack for his below-par performances this season.

Madrid fortunes or lack of it this season are down to the shambolic performances put in by Benzema and Bale’s predominant absence owing to injury.

While Benzema hasn’t looked anything like his prolific self this season, Zidane has continued to show faith in his compatriot, but his countryman hasn’t been able to repay the faith shown by his manager. In the 12 league games he has played so far this season, Benzema has only managed only 2 goals and 2 assists as Madrid have lacked a cutting edge in attack this season.

Meanwhile, injuries have constantly played spoilsport during Bale’s time at Madrid and this season has been no different as the Welshman has missed 9 out of Madrid’s 19 league games so far this season.

But in his defence, Bale has looked dangerous for Madrid whenever he has managed to stay fit and he this was the case once again when against Celta Vigo 3 weeks back as he netted a brace.

Finally, given that form is temporary but class is permanent, one can be rest assured that each of Bale, Benzema, and Ronaldo will keep reminding us of the fact that all of them are world-class players, every now and then, but as a whole, we must now come to terms with the fact that we’ve seen the last of one of football’s greatest ever trios.