Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid: 5 Key Talking Points

#2. It's easy to write off Cristiano Ronaldo. We shouldn't.

Cristiano Ronaldo isn't going to exit the stage as quietly as many think

Speaking of star turns and underperforming... Cristiano Ronaldo, eh? What a shame. His domestic goalscoring record has now entered the realms of parody - Of all goalscorers in Europe's top 5 leagues this season, Ronaldo has the worst conversion rate (1.81%) - and there is certainly quite a bit wrong with his game at the moment, but to write him off would be dangerously premature.

His all-round game was excellent today, his movement along the flanks superb, his passing and crossing on point, his freekicks much improved... and it took a brilliant Lucas Hernandez challenge to keep him from winning the game at the death.

A large part of Ronaldo's poor form, though, may be attributed to the usually brilliant Isco - and while this may sound harsh, bear with me while I explain why.

Isco's positional freedom means Real Madrid play a loose 4-1-2-1-2 formation that works well when Isco is on his A-game but suffers if the Spaniard gets more selfish than he ought to - his propensity to hold on to the ball for those few extra seconds and drift into areas where he can't pick out the runs Ronaldo makes is doing the Portuguese no favours whatsoever. Isco's positioning is also dragging Ronaldo all over the place, and that's doing the great man no favours.

I had touched upon this point earlier... and most of what I covered there remains valid even today. In fact, even the return of Benzema doesn't seem to have corrected Isco's new-found selfishness on the ball, and Ronaldo is paying for it.

Address this, and Zidane may find the solution that Ronaldo is desperate for.