Real Madrid Has gone four games without a goal

Following a string of impressive performances at the end of last season, it appeared as though Cristiano Ronaldo would take his form into the new campaign, however his suspension has taken away any rhythm he had to leave him on a disparate drought.

The winger has failed to score in any of his last four LaLiga matches and as a result the team is suffering, their talisman is not producing and for the first time in his glorious Los Blancos career, the Portuguese forward cannot be relied upon.

As he continues to struggle, the anxiety amongst the squad only rises yet further, it is unfortunate for Zinedine Zidane that this lack of form has coincided with a string of poor performances from Karim Benzema.

Valencia and Barcelona are looking to be the two teams fighting for the LaLiga title, with ten points separating both Madrid clubs from the Blaugrana and a sense that the two capital rivals will be now watching from outside this term.

Zidane was able to micromanage Ronaldo last season, he was kept fresh in time for the final stretch of the season and was thus able to perform to his maximum level in the latter stages of the Champions League.

Alvaro Morata's presence helped this significantly; the French coach could rely on him and had no concerns about resting the club's star.

This season has seen Morata depart for Chelsea and Los Blancos haven't replaced him, there is such pressure on Ronaldo to score now that it is unsurprising the team is struggling to find their attacking rhythm.

There is a saying that you should only be concerned if a forward isn't getting chances, however the 32-year-old is missing chances with those behind the scenes at Valdebebas is convinced there is a problem.

Ronaldo had chances in the Madrid derby on Saturday, two of his late chances saw him pick the ball up inside the penalty area but poor first touches allowed the Atletico Madrid defenders to close the angle and block his shots.

It was something we have never seen from the Portuguese international before; normally he is so clinical and decisive in his movement.

Obviously, he is not the only reason why Los Blancos are 10 points behind Los Cules; the strange handling of Marco Asensio also hasn't helped.

As soon as he was brought on at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano, the visitors looked a much better team; they created more chances and put the hosts under pressure.

For Ronaldo to find his form again it is thought that Asensio needs to play more minutes, unfortunately there are those within Real Madrid that feel it is too late to mount a title charge this term, that the derby may have been the club's last chance.