Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale’s Proven Link Can Kick-Start Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s run of four consecutive draws has fans frustrated, disappointed and annoyed with various aspects of the team, but none more so than the floundering front line in recent weeks.

Normally a guarantee of a host of goals and telling performances, the trio of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have not hit top gear yet, with the latter two in particular struggling to find sharpness after injuries over the summer.

It doesn’t help that Madrid were performing well until they returned from injury—but fans shouldn’t despair. While every point dropped in La Liga can be important come the end of the season, quality players will always find their way back into top form, and in Bale and Ronaldo, the side have two of the best in European football.

More than that, the duo have established a means of playing with each other and benefitting from each other, and it is that link play which can reignite Madrid’s title charge when the side returns from international duty.

Signs This Season

It didn’t take long for the first Bale-to-Ronaldo moment to take centre stage: five minutes into the latter’s return to action, in fact, against Osasuna. That’s how quickly one assisted the other this term, when the Welshman slid a low cross to the far post for the Euro 2016 winner to fire home. Up until that match, Bale had not claimed an assist for his team this season.

While the attack overall for Real Madrid has been individually suspect, those two players continue to show they have the understanding to complement each other when the mood takes them: six goals have been scored by the duo combined this season, and half have been assisted by the other. Considering Ronaldo’s third strike this season was a direct free-kick, he actually hasn’t scored a goal set up by anyone else.

The same fate has befallen the defences of Borussia Dortmund and Eibar.

Bale’s backheel flick to Ronaldo put Real Madrid ahead in the UEFA Champions League tie against the German side, while the Portugal international’s deep cross was met by his team-mate’s head for Los Blancos’ goal in the 1-1 draw with the Basque team on Sunday.

A particular characteristic of the duo combining is their willingness to put in a ball—high or low—toward that far post when on the run, in the knowledge that the …

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