Real Madrid and cross-town neighbors Atletico Madrid meet on Sunday at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for a Madrid Derby La Liga clash that sees both teams potentially shorthanded in attack. Real Madrid’s superstar striker Karim Benzema hurt his hamstring a week ago and missed this week’s Champions League showdown against Inter Milan, while Atleti veteran Luis Suarez was taken off early against Porto midweek in the UCL, with the status of both of them up in the air ahead of this 3 p.m. ET kickoff. Both teams remain hopeful that their stars can play.
But in taking a look at how these teams have done with and without their star strikers, the results are quite telling and show an advantage for one.
Benzema has missed just two games for Real since the start of the season. First there was the Oct. 30 win over Elche before this week’s 2-0 win over Inter. That’s a nice 2-0-0 record. And in the last 10 games he’s missed dating back to the 2019 season, Real have only lost once. But since September of 2017, he’s missed 17 games, with Real losing four of the matches, failing to win seven. As for Suarez, he hasn’t missed a game this season, but in 27 games he’s missed since February 2020, Atleti have lost just once.
Generally speaking, the teams have been able to weather the storms without their strikers, though Atleti considerably better. So if neither can go, there is a clear advantage to Atleti simply due to the quality in attack. While Benzema and Vinicius have quite the chemistry up top, Atleti simply have the better overall depth and options and can get a bit more out of their midfield. In last season’s La Liga-winning campaign, midfielder Marcos Llorente scored 12 times in the league for Atletico, with Angel Correa getting nine and Joao Felix seven. All of those players are back this season, with club legend Antoine Griezmann also back with six goals in all competitions. Six players have already scored multiple goals this season for Los Colchoneros.
The production outside of Benzema doesn’t compare. Last season, no attacking player produced more than five goals in La Liga with Benzema scoring 23. But so far this season, others have managed to step up. Marco Asensio has scored four goals, and Vinicius has exploded already in the double digits, trailing Benzema’s 12 strikes by just two. Part of that has been the dynamic partnership he’s formed in attack with the Frenchman, and it will be interesting to see how Vinicius does if Benzema doesn’t play. So far this season, he’s been strong without his partner.
Vinicius managed to create three chances against Inter midweek, but he also managed to score goals in that 2-0 win over Elche where Benzema didn’t play.
Atleti have proven that without Suarez, they can still get the results they need, while Real Madrid’s reliability on Benzema only puts the pressure on Vinicius if his teammate cannot go.
If neither play, it is advantage Atleti. If both play, expect fireworks as usual with secondary options in attack playing a big role. Between Benzema with Vinicius and Suarez with Griezmann, it is difficult to chose one. On Sunday, we may just see which duo reigns supreme.
