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Three takeaways from Real Madrid 1-1 Al-Hilal
Real Madrid kicked off their FIFA Club World Cup campaign against Al-Hilal last night, and in the process, kicked off a new era under Xabi Alonso.
The new manager’s first game in charge was far from ideal and the team did not look as fresh as one would expect with a new ideology in place. That, however, is understandable given that they have had little time to process the changes.
Gonzalo Garcia opened the scoring on the night with a well-worked finish and gave Real Madrid the lead over Al-Hilal. A penalty conceded by Raul Asencio, however, helped them level the scores once more.
In the end, the game ended with a 1-1 scoreline and both teams were forced to settle for a draw, much to the dismay of Alonso who would have hoped for a better start to his tenure at the club.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 1-1 Al-Hilal.
Mbappe’s absence weighs heavy
Xabi Alonso’s first-ever starting lineup for Real Madrid was headlined by the absence of Kylian Mbappe and the player’s unavailability ended up playing a big part in the final result.
It became quite clear towards the tail-end of last season that Mbappe was the team’s sole bonafide threat-creator on goal, especially with Vinicius Jr looking off-colour and others not hitting hard enough on the counterattack.
The same theme continued last night with Los Blancos not looking nearly sharp enough on the counter as they lacked Mbappe’s pace, agility and composure in front of the goal.
Alonso selected Gonzalo Garcia to replace Mbappe and the youngster went on to score the team’s only goal on the night. In all fairness, he should have had a couple more goals as he missed two big chances.
It is thus fair to say, while respecting the academy graduate’s performance, that Mbappe would have buried the chances his way or at least created more chances on his own even if he did not.
If the Frenchman returns to action, Alonso’s side will turn up completely differently for the next game.
A night of contrasting debuts
The big talking point ahead of Real Madrid’s game against Al-Hilal was the impending debuts of the two big signings of the summer, both of which had been accelerated keeping this very event in mind.
The hype around both players was real, for both arrived as some of the best in the world in their position and a long-term bet by the management. The duo, however, had contrastingly different debuts.
Dean Huijsen was the one with the superior performance on the night as he looked at home at the heart of Real Madrid’s defence. He was unfazed, calm under pressure and a force to reckon with in front of Thibaut Courtois’ goal.
In 90 minutes, he racked up three clearances, three tackles, an interception and completed 87% of his passes. Further, he even provided one key pass and created one big chance.
Trent Alexander-Arnold, meanwhile, was not as convincing in his first night in a Real Madrid shirt. He did indeed win the ball back and start the attack that led to the team’s goal, but he looked defensively off and poor with his distribution.
The right-back lost possession 12 times, was sloppy with his long balls and proved to be a defensive liability who Renan Lodi thoroughly exploited. Something to work on for the former Liverpool man.
Rough start to a big tournament
Florentino Perez and Co. have attached a lot of importance to the FIFA Club World Cup and the Merengues are rightfully seen as one of the favourites to win the tournament.
Their start to the event last night, however, was far from the dominant game fans expected especially considering the opposition. After all, Los Blancos were expected to course through the group stage of the tournament with relative ease.
Having dropped two points on day 1, there is pressure on the club to win the two remaining games now, both of which will not be easy.
Pachuca may prove to be an easier opponent than Al-Hilal, but RB Salzburg are a serious threat to Xabi Alonso’s side. Winning over Al-Hilal, needless to say, would have been massive.
All is not lost – rather, the sole poor result does not change much in terms of Real Madrid’s qualification chances. It is, however, a matter of prestige and there is a lot of ground to improve if they are to go on and win the event.
Real Madrid’s La Liga journey continues on Saturday night as they play host to Rayo Vallecano on Matchday 5 of the competition.
Coming off a win over Inter Milan at the same venue, Real Madrid have bounced back strongly from their defeat against Real Betis last weekend.
The fact of the matter, however, is that the team looked unconvincing against the Serie A champions despite winning and were lucky to be gifted both their goals on the night.
There is a lot to improve on from a Real Madrid perspective, and while it will indeed take time to adapt to a new manager’s ideologies, they simply cannot afford to lose any more points.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano.
Pressure on Vinicius
An unsaid reality of the situation at Real Madrid is that the pressure on Vinicius Jr. is growing exponentially, and the winger will not have it easy with any more poor performances.
The Brazilian star has been far from his best for a long time now, but he has failed to step up convincingly in any of the team’s five games so far.
At a time when Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe are performing week in and week out, Vinicius has failed to deliver at the level expected.
Over the past year, relations between the winger and the Real Madrid fanbase have turned sour and the strain appears to be at an all-time high as matters currently stand.
Such is the condition of the Real Madrid winger that virtually every press conference Jose Mourinho steps into revolves around him. Further, Vinicius is now being openly booed by a section of the fans even in his own stadium
It is high time Vinicius came good for Real Madrid, not only for the club’s betterment but also for his personal confidence.
If the situation persists any longer, the superstar could well collapse for good under the pressure, especially given that he has always been a deeply emotional player who reads a lot into public opinion.
The big game double-pivot
Aurelien Tchouameni’s fitness prevented him from featuring Real Madrid in the early parts of the season, and he had his first minutes in the win over Inter Milan coming off the bench in the latter stages.
In the meantime, Jose Mourinho has tried multiple double-pivot pairings including Federico Valverde-Bernardo Silva, Valverde-Eduardo Camavinga and others.
However, the manager heavily trusts in Tchouameni and the player’s return will have a massive impact on the coach’s lineups. In fact, the Tchouameni-Valverde pairing is said to be Mourinho’s preferred pivot for big games.
Both players have not started a game together yet this season, and the clash against Rayo Vallecano tomorrow could hand the manager the best chance to see the duo in action together on the field.
In theory, the Valverde-Tchouameni pairing is defensively very solid, but the coach will hope to get a clearer picture of how the team’s buildup, progression, and creativity are affected with two defensively-oriented players.
After all, any experimentation must be completed in the early stages of the season as the scope to make errors dramatically decreases with every passing game.
Moreover, the duo were involved in a dressing room scuffle last season, and it remains to be seen if that plays a role in their pairing.
Chasing a deficit
Just four games into La Liga, Real Madrid are already behind in the title race. While these are indeed just early days, falling behind can never be good.
Los Blancos dropped points in their last game against Real Betis and currently sit on nine points after four games in the competition.
Two teams sit ahead of them in the standings – Deportivo Alaves on ten points and Barcelona on twelve. Just a month into the new campaign, that is a significant difference.
Hansi Flick’s Barcelona have been flying so far in the competition and do not even appear close to dropping points or being challenged anytime soon.
In that sense, Real Madrid simply have no room for error for they are fighting against a near-perfect rival. Any more slip-ups may take their deficit beyond reach and hand Barcelona a comfortable cushion at the club.
Winning against Rayo Vallecano, and virtually every league game that comes their way, is thus simply vital for the hosts. The margin for error has never been thinner.
