By Ben Hayward | Spanish Football Writer
The BBC is losing transmission. Lauded not so long as the game's greatest forward line as Real Madrid claimed the Champions League last May, the trident of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo is failing to meet expectations in 2015.
Apart from Ronaldo's enforced two-match ban for aggression at Cordoba in late January, the trio has started all of Madrid's matches since the winter break. Results in that time, however, have been disappointing for the players individually and the team collectively - and Saturday's sterile show at Athletic was yet another example.
Bale was as erratic as he has been in recent weeks, making poor decisions and wasting some good openings in attack, Benzema cut a fatigued figure in a tired and cumbersome performance, while Ronaldo's recent malaise continued in a peripheral performance in which he rarely looked like making an impact.
It's nothing new. The trio disappointed in the 1-1 draw at home to Villarreal last Sunday, when Ronaldo registered Real's only goal from the penalty spot. So that's now two games in which Madrid have failed to score from open play - and it's simply not good enough for a team expected to win La Liga.
The disappointing defeat on Saturday means Madrid will likely lose their lead at the top of the table on Sunday as Barca host Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou in a game the Catalans will be expected to win comfortably. And if they do, Luis Enrique's side will have turned a four-point deficit into a one-point lead in the space of a week.
Madrid will only have themselves to blame for that. Missing the creative influence of Luka Modric and James Rodriguez in the middle of the park, Ancelotti's side should still possess enough quality to win these matches.
The Italian coach categorically crushed talk of leniency with his players on Friday. "This weak hand has won three Champions Leagues," he quipped. It was a fine riposte, yet actions speak louder than words and the 55-year-old's refusal to touch his sacrosanct strikeforce is not helping his side's cause at the moment.
In 2015, Bale has hit just three goals in 14 games and none since his winning penalty at Cordoba on January 24. Benzema, meanwhile, has five in those same 14 matches, with Ronaldo registering seven strikes in his 12 appearances this year - well below his usual goal-a-game ratio and far inferior to the form he showed prior to the winter break.
"It's confusing what we are doing [in attack]," the former AC Milan and Chelsea coach said afterwards. "We played too slowly and the poor circulation of the ball meant there was no space for the forwards."
And asked about the BBC specifically, the Italian added: "It's not an individual problem. They didn't have a good game, but it's the not the fault only of those three. All of the players are responsible for the way we attack."
The problem for Ancelotti is that he has few options. The Madrid boss is notoriously late with his changes and delayed action again on Saturday. Jese replaced the ineffective Asier Illarramendi after 71 minutes, but the young winger has failed to reproduce the promise he showed before his serious injury last season and another late substitute, Chicharito, is hardly a game-changer.
The Mexican came on for Benzema with 10 minutes left, but Bale and Ronaldo remained on the pitch. The Welsh winger came closest to rescuing a point with a fine long-range effort that hit the post, but Ancelotti may need to break up his famous forward line for two reasons. Firstly, to give them a well-earned rest and secondly to motivate the trio as Luis Enrique has done at Barcelona by occasionally leaving out Luis Suarez, Neymar and even Lionel Messi.
That is unlikely to happen with Ronaldo of course, but the Italian needs to put the team above individuals and show he can make courageous calls for the benefit of the collective. Because the BBC is losing transmission and unless the signal improves in the weeks ahead, Madrid's league campaign could be switched off altogether.
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