Cañizares: Real Madrid's forwards are terrible without the ball!

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper highlighted the shortcomings of the front line

Santi Cañizares has taken aim at Real Madrid's forwards for their lack of defensive graft, speaking after Saturday's 4-1 win over Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabéu in the fifth round of La Liga.

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper pulled no punches in his analysis of the match on Cope radio. "Madrid have a virtue, the best virtue a team can have, which is effectiveness, there is no doubt about that," he said, before warning that "if the team wants to be the best in Europe, they must be good at more than one aspect."

His sharpest words were reserved for the attackers and their reluctance to track back. "When they don't have the ball, what the forwards do is dreadful. They pass it on to one another, one looks at the other, and the other looks at the next, and says: ah, me, if this one doesn't move, I don't move either."

"The team splits, and the midfielders are forced to drop back and stick to the defence, and any team can create chances against Real Madrid," he added.

For Cañizares, this is a competitive flaw that Madrid cannot ignore. "This is not competitive, and it must be resolved. If you don't do it all year, the day when you need to do it you may not do it entirely well."