Real Madrid sit just two points behind current La Liga leaders Sevilla but the Los Blancos have come under increasing fire after failing to score a single goal in their last four games.
The barren spell has led to pressure increasing on new manager Julen Lopetegui as he continues to deal with the aftermath of Cristiano Ronaldo’s departure to Juventus in the summer.
Real have struggled to replicate the Portuguese superstar’s goals this season and former manager Manuel Pellegrini has expressed his surprise that the club sanctioned his departure to Juventus.
The West Ham manager spent one season in the Spanish capital with the club with his side finishing second in the league despite accumulating 96 points.
Speaking on Spanish radio show El Larguero, the Chilean said, “Madrid have lost a lot of goals; Cristiano took too many goals with him when he left. He should have ended his career in Madrid and I was surprised they allowed him to leave.”
Madrid have struggled to score in Ronaldo’s absence.
The pressure of replacing Ronaldo’s goals this season for Madrid has fallen on the shoulders of Welsh star Gareth Bale and French forward Karim Benzema.
However, Pellegrini believes the two players are vastly different from Ronaldo and will struggle to replace the Portuguese’s phenomenal goal-scoring numbers.
“There is a difference between (Gareth) Bale and Cristiano, who has made the difference for the last 10 years,” the West Ham manager stated.
“He (Benzema) has been at Madrid for nine years and has a goals average he will maintain. He is a mixture between a creative player and one who operates on the edge of the area.”
Real Madrid will hope to break their goal-scoring drought when they welcome Levante to the Bernabeu on October 20 following the completion of the international break.