Are Neymar, Mbappe & Hazard the goals that Real Madrid are missing?

Last summer was full of obstacles for Real Madrid but perhaps most importantly it was their inability to sign a big name in the transfer market that has proved costly. 

There was also the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, Zinedine Zidane's surprising exit, the controversy surrounding Julen Lopetegui joining the club, Mateo Kovacic's escape to Chelsea, Inter's persistence with Luka Modric and the Mariano situation.

Madrid tried, without success, to fill the void that Ronaldo left and three names stood out above the rest - Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Eden Hazard. All three are enjoying a purple patch in front of goal as the Paris Saint-Germain duo lead the Ligue 1 scoring charts with eight goals a piece while the Belgian has bagged the most in the Premier League with seven. In stark contrast, Julen Lopetegui's side are experiencing their worst goal drought since 1984/85 having gone six hours and 49 minutes without scoring.

Florentino Perez's greatest obsession, Neymar, is flourishing at PSG with 38 goals and 20 assists in his 40 appearances for the club, since signing from Barcelona. Thomas Tuchel has played the Brazilian through the middle, in behind Mbappe and Edinson Cavani, and is reaping the benefits. "It's different. I played there at Santos and at Barcelona and I like playing there here too. Creating chances and also scoring," Neymar said.

His eight goals in the league so far this season equals his two best starts for Barcelona in 2014/15 and 2015/16. With three assists to his name, he is - together with Mbappe - the player who has contributed to the most goals (11) in the top five European leagues.

French star Mbappe is in fine form and, even after missing three games through suspension, is joint top scorer in the league with Neymar on eight goals. His four goals in just 13 minutes against Lyon further proved that he will be a name to remember for years to come. It has been 45 years since a player that young scored four in a Ligue 1 game.

"I will always remember it, but I could have scored more," he said. At just 19 years of age, he has played 135 official matches, scoring 67 and setting up 37. The 2017 Golden Boy contributes to a goal a game at PSG: 51 appearances, 51 goals (31 for him and 20 assists). The sky is his limit.

Perhaps the most surprising of all, in terms of scoring goals, has been Eden Hazard, who is currently leading the way in the Premier League with seven strikes in eight games. He has never managed to find the net as often at this stage in a season for Chelsea to date.

"I thought Hazard was one of the best players in Europe, but I've changed my mind, he is the best and he can still get better. I've told him he could score 40 goals," coach Maurizio Sarri said. The Belgian is well on his way to improving on his 20 goals for Lille in the 2011/12 season which is still the best register in his career so far.

These are without doubt three stars that Real Madrid were dreaming of last summer who are scoring the goals that Lopetegui so desperately needs right now.