Real Madrid winger Marco Asensio perhaps hasn’t fulfilled his superstar potential, but the Spaniard has nonetheless been a serviceable option in the capital for a number of years.
A productive loan spell with Espanyol was succeeded by a promising debut season with Los Blancos before his wondergoal against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup ahead of the 2017/18 season thrust Real supporters into a state of delirium regarding Asensio’s talent.
It was Zinedine Zidane that likened Asensio to Lionel Messi amid his rise, but the pair’s relationship during the Frenchman’s couple of stints at the helm wasn’t always so fruitful. Injuries have blighted Asensio and he has deteriorated in significance as a result.
Links with a move away became constant, but he’s once again found a role following Carlo Ancelotti’s return as a clutch performer off the bench. Asensio has rediscovered his scoring touch over the past two seasons, and his latest strike has seen him equal a scoring record of his former manager.
Marco Asensio has scored the same amount of LaLiga goals as Zinedine Zidane for Real Madrid (37) 😮 pic.twitter.com/6WvhNF9xBU
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) May 13, 2023
Asensio’s Real Madrid career looked to have been fading into obscurity amid the emergence of Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and Federico Valverde towards the end of Zidane’s second reign.
However, Ancelotti offered him a new lease of life and he enjoyed the most prolific La Liga season of his career to date in 2021/22 as Real lifted the league title. Asensio scored ten times in 31 appearances – a tally Zidane failed to reach during his five seasons at the club as a player.
And despite making just 14 league starts this term, Asensio looks poised to hit double-digit goals in La Liga for the second season in succession. He’s currently scored nine with four games remaining, and his strike on Sunday in Real’s 1-0 win over Getafe took his La Liga tally with the club up to 37 which matched Zidane’s scoring haul in the Spanish top-flight.
It’s certainly unfair to compare the two both from a positional and talent perspective, but Zidane has been accused, particularly by author and sports writer Michael Cox, of perhaps not showing his best stuff over the course of a 38-game season. The Frenchman dazzled when it mattered most, however, and is rightfully regarded as one of the greatest to ever do it.
Marco Asensio’s La Liga scoring record
|
Season |
La Liga appearances |
La Liga goals |
|---|---|---|
|
2016/17 |
23 |
3 |
|
2017/18 |
32 |
6 |
|
2018/19 |
30 |
1 |
|
2019/20 |
9 |
3 |
|
2020/21 |
35 |
5 |
|
|
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at 90min EN…