Real Madrid News
Real Madrid leaders recognise the ‘lack of intensity’ from players close to World Cup
Real Madrid dropped points for just the second time this season in La Liga when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Girona at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Having taken the lead through Vinicius Jr, Real Madrid gave away a penalty for a handball which Cristhian Stuani tucked away to salvage a point for Girona.
Los Blancos are said to be unhappy and angry about the officiating by the referees on Sunday, with the penalty awarded being highly controversial while they also had a goal chalked off in the match.
While they may be frustrated with the referees, MARCA reports that the Real Madrid leaders also recognise that there was a certain lack of intensity from players against Girona this close to the FIFA World Cup.
The draw comes on the back of Los Blancos’ first defeat of the season, when they were beaten 3-2 by RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League last midweek.
They believe that these missteps will breathe life into Barcelona’s title challenge, after all the Blaugrana are now just a point below Real Madrid in the La Liga standings after the weekend’s round of fixtures.
While there are no alarm bells ringing at the moment, the Real Madrid leaders are not entirely pleased with the situation.
However, it must be noted that Luka Modric and Federico Valverde were injured and did not have a lot of training behind them for the Girona clash while Rodrygo Goes was recovering from gastroenteritis.
On top of that, Aurelien Tchouameni had to pull out on the day of the game due to discomfort while Karim Benzema was also not available.
While that should not be seen as a reason for the team to drop their intensity, these are factors that had an impact on the outcome of the game against Girona.
Marco Asensio is fighting for his future at Real Madrid. The 27-year-old winger is out of contract at the end of the season and there is no concrete decision made by the club over his renewal as of yet.
Some reports had suggested that the club had tabled an offer worth €4 million per year, which the Spaniard did not like as he sought a higher pay packet closer to around €6 million-a-year.
With his future a subject of intense speculation, Asensio had been linked with a move away to Premier League clubs such as Arsenal and Liverpool.
Meanwhile, closer to home, there were strong links to Real Madrid’s arch-rivals Barcelona. Indeed, the Catalans have been touted as potential suitors for Asensio for quite some time now due to the fact that he is represented by Jorge Mendes.
The superagent has close ties with Barcelona president Joan Laporta and reports in Spain have suggested that the Real Madrid winger has, indeed, been offered to the current La Liga leaders.
Amidst these speculations, however, Asensio has seemingly made it clear as to where his heart lies as he awaits a decision on his future.
During last night’s El Clasico against Barcelona, the Real Madrid winger came on as a substitute and went on to score a goal, following which he celebrated at Camp Nou, pointing to the Real Madrid logo on his shirt, showing where his allegiances lie.
The goal, however, was disallowed by the VAR, and Los Blancos ended up losing the game 2-1 thanks to a stoppage-time winner by Franck Kessie.
Earlier today, Asensio took to Instagram and posted a picture of him celebrating with his finger pointing to the Real Madrid logo, reiterating his commitment to the club amidst the links to Barcelona.
As for his disallowed goal, it sparked an angry reaction from Carlo Ancelotti, who questioned the legitimacy of the decision made by the VAR during his post-match press conference.
