This is the fact that Madrid have put their faith in talent this season

It's hard to talk about one of our own, but over the past week at MARCA, we have outlined the fact that Real Madrid have put their faith in talent this season, as opposed to goalscorers.

Zinedine Zidane has done this out of necessity, as lacking a proven marksman, which Karim Benzema no longer is, has seen the French coach opt for a plethora of creative players instead, such as Marcelo, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Eden Hazard and Isco, with the addition of Benzema up front, of course.

It's clear why Zidane has backed this setup. It's because this is what Real Madrid currently have at their disposal. They don't have a Lionel Messi, they don't have a Robert Lewandowski, and they don't even have an Erling Haaland.

It's anyone's guess how it got to this point.

Real Madrid have stars in the sense that Zidane has created a team that plays well, but ultimately they lack a killer instinct.

From another perspective; it could be argued that they don't play well because football is about goals and, at the end of the day, Los Blancos do not score many.

The club have struggled to fill the void left by Cristiano Ronaldo's departure, and while Lewandowski came close to joining the club, the deal fell through at the last minute

Zidane, then, had no choice but to ask more from Benzema, a request to which the striker duly obliged, and of Gareth Bale.

Bale watched Saturday night's game on television, as is largely the case these days. His absolute abandonment of his responsibilities has rendered Real Madrid orphaned by the player, who pound for pound surely has more potential to get amongst the goals than anybody else in the squad, but he is not in the team, and nor does he want to be.

In the article that I referred to at the start, I questioned whether Real Madrid really have it in them to compete for both the LaLiga Santander title and the Champions League this season.

The defeat against Levante at the Estadi Ciutat de Valencia gave a painful but not certain answer.

One of the most important weeks of the campaign is fast approaching, and it will soon be decided whether talent alone outweighs goalscoring capability.