Zidane needs to try a new midfield

Casemiro is an undisputed starter for Zinedine Zidane. The Brazilian midfielder earned a spot in the starting lineup when Real Madrid were looking to be solid and while the BBC of Benzema, Ronaldo and Bale were still reliable week in and week out. His presence as a defensive midfielder was a relief for both Toni Kroos and Luka Modric and his contribution to the last two Champions League titles conquered by Los Blancos must be noted.

Still, Real Madrid are struggling right now and they are not creating enough chances to dominate. A midfield with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric should be capable of controlling the tempo against any given team and yet they’ve proved time and time again that they need to find some kind of answer in order to take Madrid to the next level.

Casemiro is a very useful midfielder and a player Real should keep around. Still, Zidane should probably build a system without him in order to explore a Kroos-Modric-Isco midfield with Bale, Ronaldo and Benzema upfront. If the BBC isn’t ready, Isco could play as an attacking midfielder with Kovacic playing behind Kroos and Modric, a system which worked to perfection this pre-season.

All things considered, former Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti already played Kroos as a defensive midfielder during his second season with Madrid and the team played extremely entertaining football until Luka Modric was forced to miss more than two months with a groin injury, one that clearly ruined Madrid’s season.

Again, Casemiro’s individual performances are not to blame for Madrid’s struggles, but the team should still play better than they are currently doing, so it would be wise of Zidane to at least try a new midfield and see if Los Blancos can find some of their attacking groove.