Three things we learned from Real Madrid’s 2-2 draw against Valencia

Real Madrid collected a disappointing 2-2 draw against Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu and they managed to get that single point thanks to Marco Asensio, whose presence allowed Madrid to at least escape with said draw. Here are three things we learned from the game.

1. Asensio is not looking back. This young man showed that not only he deserves to be a starter, he also is ready to lead the team. His brace was beautiful to watch and I can’t think of any possible way in which Zidane decides to keep him on the bench for big games this season. He could potentially score 40 goals a season if he’s given relevant minutes.
2. Benzema missed chances, but Bale is the more worrying sign of this game. The French attacker had enough opportunities to guarantee an easy win for Madrid and missed them all. However, he tried time and time again, something which can’t be said about Bale’s effort last night. Maybe he isn’t comfortable playing with Benzema upfront and maybe he just doesn’t have the confidence he needs right now, but Bale was a ghost all game long.
3. Kroos as a defensive midfielder didn’t work. Remember Kroos’ first season with Real Madrid? He played deep and completed some brilliant performances by controlling the tempo of the game. That Kroos might not exist anymore, though, because the German midfielder proved that he will not be able to replace Casemiro in the defensive midfielder position. Luckily enough for Madrid, Llorente and Kovacic are more than capable of playing there.