Real relying too much on talisman CR7

MADRID: Real Madrid’s reliance on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was more evident than ever on Tuesday as the Spanish and European champions meekly lost 1-0 at Espanyol in La Liga.

It was Real’s first defeat by the Catalans in 11 years after the latest in a long line of insipid displays without Ronaldo that highlight how important the evergreen 33-year-old - who has scored 12 goals in his last seven appearances - is to the side.

After being sent off and suspended for five games after pushing the referee during Real’s 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup first leg on Aug. 13, Ronaldo missed the opening four league games of the season.

In that spell, Real secured victories over Deportivo La Coruna and Real Sociedad but drew at home to Levante and Valencia in the kind of tight affairs that Ronaldo would habitually pop up with a goal in.

Real coach Zinedine Zidane omitted the Portuguese from last week’s win at Leganes in which Real were less than convincing, needing a 90th minute Sergio Ramos penalty to seal a 3-1 victory. In the six Liga matches Ronaldo missed this season, Madrid have claimed 11 points from a possible 18 and they find themselves adrift of the league’s top two.

They trail leaders Barcelona by 14 points and languish seven points behind secondplaced city rivals Atletico, who were handicapped by a transfer ban last summer.

The top two also have a game in hand over Real.

After seeing Ronaldo put in virtuoso displays in which he netted twice against PSG in the Champions league and then Alaves, Zidane gambled that his squad would be good enough to see off Espanyol.

However, the fact that Zidane’s side look so mediocre without their Portuguese forward will have alarm bells ringing at the Santiago Bernabeu. – Reuters