Zinedine Zidane is a staunch defender and lover of the Madrid attack formed by Bale, Benzema and Cristiano. In fact, on various occasions he has picked those three to the detriment of an in-form Isco or an on-fire Marco Asensio. But the last time all three players completed ninety minutes together, the Frenchman was not in charge at the Santiago Bernabeu.
However, the numbers don't lie, and recently 'BBC' have had very little game time on the same pitch. The most startling stat, however, is that the Welsh, French and Portuguese stars have not started and finished a match together since 2015.
It happened in December at El Madrigal (now Estadio de la Ceramica) during the clash with Villarreal. It was gameweek 15 and it ended in a 1-0 defeat for the Madrid side which lined up like this: Navas, Danilo, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Casemiro, James, Modric; Bale, Ronaldo, Benzema.
During the match all three substitutions were made without replacing the attacking trio. Rafa Benitez was searching for the draw which never game and, he chose to sacrifice Casemiro, Modric and Marcelo instead.
Bale's constant injuries, which Benzema has also suffered from occasionally, rotation, Ronaldo's suspension and a few other factors (like Benzema's numerous substitutions) have led to a strange situation, but it sums up perfectly the disappointing period for the once deadly trio.