Real Madrid’s start of the 2015-16 season is certainly not a memorable one as they had to settle with a goal-less draw against Sporting Gijon and have already started to drop points and they need to bounce back from this early struggle in order to not stay too far behind from their rivals Barcelona who have already taken the lead.

Toni Kroos, Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Cristiano Ronaldo, James Rodriguez and all of the star players of Real Madrid played in this match with the exception of Karim Benzema who was going through a recovery process after having picked up an injury.

When the match was over, the scoreboard displayed 0-0 as neither side managed to score a single goal but this lifeless score did not accurately reflect what had occurred in the pitch as Real Madrid dominated the game from start till the end.

67% of possession was enjoyed and controlled by Real Madrid and the team of Rafael Benitez had the upper hand in everything else. The visiting team launched 8 shots on target meanwhile Sporting Gijon did not have a single shot that was threatening or on target at all.

Real Madrid completed 555 passes while Sporting Gijon delivered less than half with 205 passes.

Sporting Gijon played the match of their lives; they performed like if this game could have been the decisive factor between winning a major title and losing it. There is no doubt that the home team truly deserved the draw but more importantly than the draw is the point that they collected.

Rafael Benitez’s player did everything in their power to snatch the win but just couldn’t clutch it out despite their overwhelming dominance. Even with all the power and control that Real Madrid had in this game it wasn’t enough for them to gain anything more than a single point.

At the end of it all the only thing that ultimately matters is to secure points and this isn’t what Rafael Benitez managed to do in his debut match as the manager of Real Madrid.

The factor that will determine for how long Benitez stays in charge of Real Madrid is his capability of earning points and trophies. The points need to start arriving not only for the Spanish club but more importantly for Benitez because if he is not able to do it, his managerial position at the Santiago Bernabeu will not last for a long time.