Real Madrid Misses Ronaldo

Real Madrid’s fear factor has decreased without Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad.

The Spanish megalodon hosted easy meat -- Levante -- but could only salvage a 1-1 draw.

Maybe it's still simply Real getting accustomed to Ronaldo's absence, but in this match, they couldn't have been less threatening.

It's so dire, in fact, that their supporters had best not refer to them by one of their many nicknames. Currently , these dudes are not playing like Los Vikingos.

To virtually everyone’s surprise at the Bernabéu, it was Levante’s Ivi Lopez who opened the scoring:

It's interesting that -- right now, anyway -- Real's weak on attack and defense. Their saving grace continues to be in midfield.

Those dudes did their bit in responding, as Lucas Vasquez netted a rebound:

Do know Real had their chances, like this fortuitous save on Gareth Bale:

Not to mention Bale's header missing wide on an outstanding cross:

Near the end of a totally unsatisfactory outing, Real's frustrations were exemplified by Marcelo getting embarrassingly brutal and drawing a red card for his transgression:

That's a cheap shot not even a self-respecting Viking would've made.

Dudes better get their ship righted sooner rather than later.