MU Shorts
Numbers don’t lie: Real Madrid have plenty of room for improvement across the pitch
Real Madrid’s season, under the returning Jose Mourinho, has not started as expected at the club.
In terms of results, eight matches have produced six wins one draw and two defeats in all competitions. Both losses have come in La Liga (five wins), leading to the Merengues occupying the fourth place in the table.
Meanwhile, arch-rivals Barcelona have maintained a perfect winning record riding on their relentless goalscoring form, opening up a six-point lead at the table.
Mourinho is using the international break to analyse what has gone wrong and what can be improved. And, several metrics and statistics show that Real Madrid has significant room for improvement.
As highlighted a few days ago, Real Madrid are the team that covers the fewest kilometres per match in La Liga on average, at 96.5, almost ten fewer than Barcelona’s 104.5. Los Blancos are also second-bottom for high-intensity runs per match, with 394.
Possession and defensive numbers
There are further figures suggesting that Real Madrid could be doing more in terms of off-the-ball efforts and defensively.
Real Madrid also happen to be the team that commits the fewest fouls, with 59, fewer than half Espanyol’s 120, yet it is also the team that has been fouled the most in La Liga, with 97.
In terms of recoveries, the Spanish capital giants rank 16th with 302, 38 fewer than Barcelona, while they are also near the bottom for interceptions, ranking 17th.
One argument could be that these figures indicate that Real Madrid are dominating games more often than they are dominated, leaving fewer opportunities to be aggressive without the ball.
However, the numbers do not particularly support that theory either. Real Madrid average 52.3% possession, only slightly more than half.
That is a long way behind Barcelona’s 68.7% and also below Villarreal at 61.4%. Even Atlético Madrid (59.1%) and Real Betis (53.6%) outdo the Merengues.
That possession also allows Barcelona to protect themselves more effectively. The Catalans have conceded just 51 shots, including 22 on target, while Real Madrid have faced 89 shots, with 31 on target.
Finishing not up to the mark either
Real Madrid can improve defensively, but the attacking numbers also reveal significant room for growth.
The biggest issue is finishing. The Merengues have scored 18 goals, 13 fewer than Barcelona’s 31.
That is despite the two teams having taken a similar number of shots: Barça have attempted 150, compared with 131 for Los Blancos. The difference is even smaller when looking at shots on target, with 58 for Barcelona and 53 for Madrid.
Barcelona’s players score once every 1.8 shots on target, while Real Madrid stars needs almost three.
The contrast is particularly clear when comparing the leading scorers for both teams, Raphinha and Kylian Mbappe.
The Brazilian has scored 12 goals from just 25 total shots and 16 shots on target. Real Madrid’s No. 10, meanwhile, has scored seven goals from 41 attempts and 22 shots on target.
The numbers clearly show that Real Madrid have a lot of work to do, both in defence and in attack, if they are to close the gap to the top.
Source: AS
Real Madrid returned to winning ways with a narrow 1-0 victory over Villarreal, but the performance once again left a lot to be desired.
The result did little to hide the problems that continue to affect Jose Mourinho’s team, and the refereeing controversies became a talking point once more.
Yan Diomande’s second-half goal helped Los Blancos secure three valuable points. That said, Madrid struggled to establish sustained attacking control over the game.
There were some encouraging individual performances, but the same questions about the midfield, Arda Guler’s positioning and the team’s attacking structure cropped up.
Here are four things we learned from Real Madrid’s narrow 1-0 victory over Villarreal.
Yan Diomande is ready to start more regularly
Diomande was easily Madrid’s most dangerous attacking player against Villarreal, and his decisive goal was a consequence of an impressive performance.
What makes the youngster particularly valuable is his willingness to attack defenders directly. Madrid have often looked hesitant in possession this season.
They have kept the ball and circulated it without necessarily focusing on one-v-one situations, which could be directly related to Vinicius Junior’s poor form.
Diomande offered something different in this regard. His directness forced full-backs into making decisions and opened up space for his team-mates.
With Vinicius now facing a potential suspension, Mourinho has an obvious opportunity to give Diomande greater responsibility.
Valverde-Tchouameni double pivot does not work
Federico Valverde and Aurelien Tchouameni are excellent footballers. That said, they do not seem to work well together for Madrid.
Both offer physicality, defensive awareness and the ability to cover large areas. Those qualities are important, particularly for a team that can be vulnerable when opponents counter-attack.
However, Madrid’s biggest problem against Villarreal was not a lack of defensive protection. It was their difficulty progressing the ball into dangerous areas.
Too often, both midfielders moved the ball sideways without offering a penetrating option that broke the Villarreal defence.
Valverde’s greatest strengths include his powerful running and ability to influence different phases of play.
He looked much better operating as a flank player than as a midfielder, and it is high time Mourinho started using Bernardo Silva more regularly.
Arda Guler is far more useful operating centrally
Guler’s positioning remains another important tactical question. The Turkey international possesses the vision, technical quality and passing range to influence the game and turn it in Madrid’s favour.
Against Villarreal, Madrid looked more fluid whenever Guler moved inside and helped connect the midfield with the forwards.
From central positions, he can receive between opposition lines, combine with Jude Bellingham and identify forward runs before defenders have time to react.
Even if Guler starts on the wing, his primary role has to be drifting inside and almost acting as a second No. 10 in build-up alongside Bellingham.
Having excellent attack-minded overlapping right-backs like Denzel Dumfries and Trent Alexander-Arnold allows Guler to do just that.
Madrid must start using Guler more centrally in the coming weeks and make use of his excellent vision to improve their attacking structure.
A group of talented individuals
Perhaps the biggest concern is that Madrid continue to look more dangerous through individual moments of brilliance rather than collective play.
There is no shortage of quality. Mbappe, Vinicius, Bellingham, Guler and Diomande all possess the ability to decide matches.
However, Mourinho is yet to identify a system that gives the team structure and allows these stars to thrive in unison.
When one player receives possession, team-mates should already be moving into positions that create multiple options.
Too often, Madrid’s attackers appear disconnected, leaving the player on the ball to solve the situation alone.
With a trip to the Spotify Camp Nou approaching, Madrid need to address this situation sooner rather than later.
Mourinho has the talent available. Now he needs to make those players function as a team if he harbours any hope of success in La Liga this season.
