Xabi Alonso yet to figure out a key piece of the puzzle at Real Madrid | OneFootball

Real Madrid have been known to boast some of the world’s best attacking tridents in the history of football, with the all-time great trio arguably being that of Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema.

Even under Carlo Ancelotti, Los Blancos had a clear go-to forward trio in every season with Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo Goes, Karim Benzema, and Kylian Mbappe all having their places across seasons.

The big change with Xabi Alonso, however, has been that the new manager is yet to find his best forward trio. With close to a third of the season beyond us, the coach has found no stability in that department.

Still experimenting

Vinicius and Mbappe are currently the only guaranteed starters in Real Madrid’s attack and the third member in the trident has been variable all season. Alonso, in a way, has been conducting auditions with no clear winner stepping up yet.

In the 16 games so far this season, Franco Mastantuono has been the most regular member of the trident as he has started five times alongside the talismanic duo. However, the Argentine has seen his prominence take a dip of late due to form and fitness issues.

Mastantuono has been Alonso’s preferred third attacker. (Photo by Aitor Alcalde/Getty Images)

Meanwhile, among other players, Brahim Diaz has started as the third attacker on four occasions and Jude Bellingham thrice.

The remaining games saw Vinicius start on the bench and Rodrygo take his place on the left wing.

Surprisingly, however, the latter has not started even once on the right wing so far this season despite it being his regular position in the previous campaign.

Bellingham, Brahim, and Mastantuono, across their 12 starts on the right wing, have racked up a cumulative of just five goals and three assists – figures that are extremely poor for Real Madrid’s standards.

As the season progresses, it will become all the more critical for the manager to have a reliable trio and it remains to be seen if any of the current three options solidify their position. Rodrygo and Gonzalo, who have been out of the loop so far, are also options.