Real Madrid are sat joint-top of La Liga with Girona, four points ahead of rivals Barcelona, having just beaten them away from home in El Clasico. But little will save a Real Madrid manager nor the players from criticism if they are not playing well.
Los Blancos came away with the three points on Saturday through Jude Bellingham’s sensational brace, which continued his incredible start to the season. Yet it has not gone unnoticed that Real Madrid did not create a clear chance outside of those goals, and that for the first hour of the match, Carlo Ancelotti’s side were second best.
Relevo note that Bellingham’s goals are hiding several issues, one of which is the left-back spot. Eduardo Camavinga did well there as a substitute, but will likely play more in midfield now with Aurelien Tchouameni injured. In Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia, Los Blancos are very much without a convincing option there.
They also note that Rodrygo Goes (2) and Vinicius Junior (3) have the same amount of goals put together as Joselu Mato (5), a clear sign that Brazilian duo are not yet comfortable in their new shape, nor effective.
David Alaba was another source of criticism, with his weak effort responsible for Barcelona’s opener at the weekend. Meanwhile Diario AS concur with that assessment, highlighting Alaba as one of three players ‘under observation’.
They also highlight Rodrygo’s lack of production, while calling out Tchouameni for his error in sending Ilkay Gundogan through for Barcelona’s goal. The Frenchman was highly fortunate not to concede a penalty after pulling Ronald Araujo backwards by the neck at a corner too. They describe it as a ‘constant sense of uncertainty rather than major errors’ with Tchouameni that are the basis of their worries, admitting that he had a ‘spectacular’ start to the season.
No doubt Ancelotti’s side are not a fully functioning outfit currently, and the Italian will be well aware of that. From a glass half full perspective, Real Madrid have plenty of room for improvement, while still being top of the league. Equally, there is no guarantee that that improvement will come, nor that their effectiveness will continue.
Bias again. A game is 90 (+ IT) – not 60 minutes. No examination of the last 30 minutes? Who let Bellingham have the time to take a touch, move it a shooting position before the equaliser? Madrid also had 3 shots on target… where were the Barca defenders on those (e.g. the Tchouameni shot). Who in the Barca defence made the mistakes to allow the close-up winning goal? Xavi lost another major game – no introspection there? Probably because the Champions League group is an easy one… lets wait till they get to play against a tough opponent in the knockout round. Real Madrid lost a game to Barca earlier this year by 1-0 in similar circumstances… they dominated possession and all other stats – I don’t remember anyone criticising Barca back then. Injuries and re-building… we also have key injuries – or does long term not count? We are also re-building… actually 4 key positions need replacements. Also- Jude is a player in our team… he doesn’t operate in a vacuum. The team will only get sharper as the season progresses so lets see the next time. For now, the media can write a million articles encouraging Barca, the teenagers and Xavi but the the key takeaway is… WE WON.
Forgot to mention that REAL MADRID beat Barca 4-0 at the Camp Nou (!) in the CDR semis earlier this calendar year. Benz scored a hattrick. I don’t remember the sky falling in for Xavi and Bara back then either (but can imagine a reverse score line’s media frenzy).