Real Madrid need to be winning at half time at home or it gets complicated

Real Madrid have lost their habit of winning comfortably at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

They can no longer take a substantial lead by half time and see out the rest of the match with relative ease.

The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer has had a hand in this slump in home performances, with new signings, apart from Eden Hazard, unable to break into the team since.

In Zinedine Zidane's 55 games in charge of Real Madrid at the Bernabeu, he's won 40 and led at half time in 31.

When the hosts aren't winning at half time, they've gone on to win nine, draw nine and lose six. That means they've picked up just 36 of the 72 points on offer in those games.

When Zidane first took charge in 2016, Real Madrid tended to close out their home games early.

During the second half of the 2015/16 campaign, Los Blancos beat Deportivo 5-0, Sporting Gijon 5-1, Espanyol 6-0, Athletic Club 4-2, Celta Vigo 7-1, Sevilla 4-0, Eibar 4-0 and Villarreal 3-0 at home.

In total, they won nine of their 10 home games, with a 3-2 loss to Valencia the only blip.

During the 2016/17 season, Zidane's side continued their strong home record as they went on to win the LaLiga Santander title. A 3-2 defeat to Barcelona was their only loss at the Bernabeu.

In the 14 games that they won, they were ahead at half time in 10 of them. There were thrashings of Osasuna (5-2), Leganes (3-0), Granada (5-0), Real Sociedad (3-0), Alaves (3-0) and Sevilla (4-1).

In the 2017/18 campaign, which was Ronaldo's last at the club, Real Madrid picked up 12 wins at home, leading at half time in 11 of those.

The Bernabeu witnessed impressive wins over Eibar (3-0), Las Palmas (3-0), Sevilla (5-0), Deportivo (7-1), Real Sociedad (5-2), Alaves (4-0), Girona (6-3) and Celta (6-0).

Last season, Real Madrid won just three games convincingly in front of their own fans: 4-1 over Leganes, 3-0 over Alaves and 3-0 over Athletic Club. After Zidane returned as coach, they led just one home game at half time: an eventual 3-2 win over Villarreal.

This year it looks like Real Madrid's home struggles will continue. They had trouble finding an opener against Real Valladolid on Sunday and ultimately paid for their lack of goals in a 1-1 draw.