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Las Palmas 1-1 Real Madrid: Three talking points
Real Madrid faced Las Palmas away from home last night in their third league encounter of the season, but they came back with their second draw.
Los Blancos have already dropped four out of possible nine points early in the campaign and sit in fifth place on the standings, four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Alberto Moleiro opened the scoring for Luis Miguel Carrion’s side at Gran Canaria in just the fifth minute of play, pushing the visitors against the wall and taking the lead.
After toiling hard for over an hour, Real Madrid won a penalty in the 67th minute that Vinicius Jr. skilfully converted to equalise the score.
Neither team had it in them to push for and score a winner.
We look at the three talking points about the team’s underwhelming result against Las Palmas.
A worrying start to the season
Real Madrid have been under pressure in La Liga from day one as the defending champions. After all, their campaign last season was close to flawless as they lost only one game in the competition.
Their start to the new campaign, however, has been anything but stellar, and they already stare at a large deficit just three games into the season.
Real Madrid’s title defense already got off to a poor start when they drew against Mallorca on Matchday 1. A win over Real Valladolid promised to set things right, but matters went awry again last night.
The poor result against Las Palmas was not for a lack of chances, for Real Madrid created an xG of 2.81 over the 90 minutes. In that duration, they enjoyed five big chances and recorded 25 shots on the night.
To not score despite such opportunities created in the final third is borderline criminal, and Carlo Ancelotti has to make big fixes soon.
Mbappe disappoints once again
After scoring his opening goal for the club against Atalanta, Kylian Mbappe has struggled to hit the ground running for Real Madrid.
The French forward has started all three of the team’s games in La Liga so far, and it is safe to say that his performance has been on a steady decline.
What initially appeared to be sizzling chemistry between Mbappe and Vinicius Jr in the UEFA Super Cup has not been recreated in the matches that followed. Last night, once more, Mbappe and Vinicius appeared completely out of sync.
In 90 minutes against the Canary Island-based side, Mbappe recorded two shots on target, two shots off target, and had five shots blocked. None of his strikes, however, were good enough to beat Jasper Cillessen.
With just 17 passes completed in ninety minutes, it is clear that Mbappe’s role was to stay in the box and look for the lethal finish. That, however, was exactly what he lacked.
The pressure is mounting on the new signing, and an improvement is necessary, be it from the player’s side or the manager’s tactical plan.
Where is the Real Madrid spirit?
Real Madrid’s sensational run last season was not without the team’s usual set of off days. As with any other side, the men in white often dished out performances far from their best, but there was a stark difference.
Even when uninspired, fatigued, or just enduring an off-day, Real Madrid have always been ones to conjure out a win. Be it individual brilliance or a sudden spark of teamwork, something was inspiring about the team’s mentality.
It was that very mental fortitude that helped them tide over the lowest of lows across competitions and even aided them time and time again in the UEFA Champions League.
That belief, spirit, and determination have been missing so far this season, and last night was more of the same.
Los Blancos were sloppy with their distribution, had holes in defence, were lazy on the field especially off the ball, and wasteful in front of goal.
Even when the hosts went 1-0 up, they did not appear as motivated as usual to strike back and earn all three points.
The mental relaxation, needless to say, is not what Carlo Ancelotti expects from his side.
The Real Madrid spirit is the essence of the team’s success over the years, and the manager must light it up once more if the side are to improve.
Real Madrid made a mess of their game against Elche last night, and it is clear that the men in white have several flaws with no answers at the moment.
From being 2-0 up, the men in white bottled their lead and threw the game into jeopardy by permitting Elche to score two goals. The result, as many saw it, was set to end in a draw.
With some persistent attacks in the dying minutes, however, Real Madrid managed to build pressure on Elche and eventually scored one more goal at the death to take home the three points.
Needless to say, however, the negatives from the game far outweigh the positive news of the three points.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Elche 2-3 Real Madrid.
Another second-half collapse
After Real Madrid’s win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, Jose Mourinho stressed the fact that Real Madrid actually played only one half and that the fatigue began showing after the break.
On the night, the opposition began to enjoy more dominance and create chances after half-time as they outran and outpressed Los Blancos to good effect.
Last night was no different, and the second half went completely awry.
The men in white entered the half-time break cruising with a 2-0 lead and significant dominance over the proceedings. They had a massive xG, with Elche barely creating any chances of note.
After the break, however, the entire dynamic of the game changed as Real Madrid took a step back and handed the impetus to the hosts. Pressing high and attacking without fear, Elche dominated Real Madrid for most of the second half and had a staggering 60% of possession.
They scored twice – in the 71st and 83rd minutes – and equalised Real Madrid on the night. Given the visitors’ shambolic display, it was deserved for Elche.
At this point, the constant second-half collapses and fatigue struggles of the team after just 45 minutes of action must worry Jose Mourinho immensely. Heading into a derby away from home, Real Madrid have to do much better.
The away curse continues
While Real Madrid’s form at home has been imperious this season, their form away from home has been equally shocking.
They began their season with a last-minute win over Espanyol, and their second league game of the season on the road came against Real Betis and ended in defeat.
Heading into their third away game last night, there was an element of worry about how they would perform, and the trend continued once more.
Real Madrid did well to take the lead on the night, but they made the second half a massive war and far more difficult than it should have been.
At this point, serious questions have to be raised about Real Madrid’s form on the road and their inability to keep games under control when playing in away stadiums.
Heading forward in the season, Los Blancos have some massive away games coming up against far more difficult opposition. The Madrid derby is up next, and the team’s form is nothing promising heading into that fixture.
Carlos Espi saves the day… again!
Real Madrid are currently on 15 points after six games in the league, but Carlos Espi has directly contributed to a massive chunk of that.
If not for the new Spanish striker’s ability to come up clutch in big moments, Real Madrid could well have been on just 11 points at this stage in the season, and the four points he has added are absolutely crucial.
Against Espanyol, it was Espi who scored a stoppage-time winner to hand Real Madrid all three points after a complicated match. Last night, he repeated the same heroics once more.
With the team staring at a draw, the new signing was at the right place at the right time to bury Kylian Mbappe’s assist in stoppage time, handing Real Madrid all three points at the death.
He may not have played a large part on the night, but his cameo was again powerful and it is clear that he elevates the team’s attack and provides new solutions in front of goal. Espi has already proven his talent, and his ability to perform under pressure is what makes him special.
