Real Madrid did not face a shortage of goals at the start of the new season 2023-2024, despite the departure of French striker Karim Benzema to the Saudi club Al-Ittihad, but another crisis came to light due to penalties.
It seems that Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti has not found a reliable player to take penalties, which Benzema was taking care of before his departure.
According to the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo", Ancelotti did not specify a specific player to carry out penalties, and this was evident in the matches played since the beginning of the new league, and even in the preparatory period.
She pointed out that the young Englishman Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund, in the current summer transfer market for 103 million euros, took care of the task of scoring goals just as Benzema was doing. But when it comes to shooting from the penalty spot, for which Benzema was responsible and scored a lot of goals, Real Madrid are clearly struggling.
"After Benzema's departure, Vinicius Jr. was the first player to take a penalty during the pre-season friendly in the United States, when the Brazilian sent the ball to the crossbar."
The referee awards a penalty to Real Madrid, but Vinicius wastes it. #ريال_مدريد_برشلونة #أبوظبي_الرياضية 1 pic.twitter.com/KhsdGO8ufR
— Abu Dhabi Sports Channel (@ADSportsTV) July 29, 2023
"It was repeated for the second time at the Balaídos stadium (home of Celta de Vigo), when his compatriot Rodrigo Goss stepped forward to take a penalty he got himself, but the Brazilian followed in Vini's footsteps, and his team missed the opportunity to advance in the game, but this time because of the brilliance of Ivan Villar, the goalkeeper of the local team."
Rodrygo misses penalty for Real Madrid #الدوري_الإسباني #ريال_مدريد_سيلتا_فيغو #LaLiga #beINLiga pic.twitter.com/EYd72uJq9h
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) August 25, 2023
Croatian expert Luka Modric was supposed to come forward to take the penalty, but Rodrygo did not abide by the instructions of his Italian coach, whose anger was documented by television cameras.
Ancelotti has previously confirmed that the order of penalty takers at Real Madrid is as follows: Vinicius, then Modric, then Rodrygo. Rodrygo stepped up to take the penalty despite Modric on the pitch, although Vinicius had left the pitch injured from the 18th minute.
Bellingham continues to shine in LaLiga #La Liga #ريال_مدريد_سيلتا_فيغو #LaLiga #beINLiga pic.twitter.com/NDM8ScbzpN
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) August 25, 2023
Bellingham ensured the rescue of Rodrygo and the Real Madrid team from falling into the trap of a goalless draw for the first time in the new season when he scored the winning goal 8 minutes before the end, after he followed Joselo's pass and put it with his head into the net, to maintain the presence of the "Merengue" in the lead with the full mark.