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REAL MADRID

Gareth Bale is the only member of Zidane's BBC that is working

If there is one player that Zidane can cling onto right now then it is the Welshman who has scored three of the six league goals that the BBC have contributed.

Gareth Bale is the only member of Zidane's BBC that is working

In a time of need a manager looks for something to grasp hold of and for Real Madrid manager, Zinedine Zidane, that something comes in the form of Gareth Bale at the start of this 2016/17 campaign.

Zidane is hoping he can rely on Gareth Bale as the BBC continue to find their collective feet.
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Zidane is hoping he can rely on Gareth Bale as the BBC continue to find their collective feet.JESUS ALVAREZ ORIHUELADIARIO AS

Dragon impact

The Welshman is the only cog in the BBC wheel that is functioning correctly at the moment which has seen him contribute directly to five goals in the eight games he has played so far in all competitions. This breaks down into three goals (as many as Cristiano, Ramos and Asensio) and two assists (one behind Kroos and Lucas Vazquez). Those three goals came in LaLiga matches and make up half of those accumulated by the BBC combination, less than 50% of the total of 13 that had been seen by this time last season.

Cristiano and Karim

For his part, Cristiano Ronaldo has been recovering from the knee injury sustained in this summer's European Championship final while playing in six of the ten official encounters for Madrid. In those he has a one in two ratio with three goals. Interestingly two of those came in the Champions League group games with the other against Osasuna in the Bernabéu. Those goals in the Champions League could prove to be crucial for top spot qualification. 

Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo still to fully step up.
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Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo still to fully step up.Dean MouhtaropoulosBongarts/Getty Images

Benzema on the otherhand has so far not made the expected impression. He has been on the field for eight matches but only scored twice - both in the league - and has never completed 90 minutes. Three times he was introduced from the bench and in the other five Zidane decided to replace him during the game.

With the international break now upon us, Zidane will be hoping that his headline front three can return unhurt and, for two of them, somewhat sharper. And with Benzema not being selected for France, he also has the chance to work with his number 9 on the training field.