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Three talking points ahead of Athletic Club vs Real Madrid | La Liga MD19
Real Madrid play a sixth consecutive game away from home on Wednesday, this time in the Basque country as they pay a visit to Athletic Club at San Mames.
The hosts have not had the greatest start to a season and sit in eighth place after fourteen games this season and currently remain outside contention for a spot in Europe.
Further, they have shockingly conceded more goals than they have scored this season with 17 goals conceded and just 14 scored in as many games.
For Real Madrid, this comes as a golden chance to fight back after a poor run, but the hosts are just coming off a win and will look to capitalise on the poor form of Xabi Alonso’s side’s.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Athletic Club vs Real Madrid.
A forfeited lead
Real Madrid’s draw against Girona at Estadi Montilivi came as a disastrous blow to their position in the league standings, for it only prolonged their poor run of form and helped them lose ground.
Having been well clear of Barcelona just at the beginning of November, Los Blancos have seemingly lost the plot and the two points dropped at the weekend saw them forfeit the lead completely.
It is now Hansi Flick’s Barcelona who reign on the leaderboard once more, albeit just by one point. Yet, it is astounding to see how Real Madrid have dropped six of their last nine points and have looked nowhere close to the level they showed just a month ago.
It is high time Real Madrid smell the coffee and get back on their feet, for a fourth successive game dropping points would be devastating. Luckily, the matchday gives them a chance to possibly even reclaim the throne.
As part of the postponed Matchday 19, Barcelona lock horns with Atletico Madrid in a high-stakes game that could go either way. While Real Madrid has no easy opponent either, it is clear that they have a golden chance to pull back on the deficit.
The clear, goal, thus will be to take all three points and return to the winning momentum they have so badly missed.
Final challenge away from home
Real Madrid’s season began to go downhill when they travelled to Anfield to take on Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League.
Arne Slot’s side took the men in white to the cleaners and should well have won by more than a one-goal margin, and the men in white have barely found a way to pick themselves up after that.
It is no coincidence that the slump has coincided with the team’s long spell away from home, and the only logical conclusion is that Real Madrid are having a torrid time performing outside the Santiago Bernabeu.
Tomorrow’s game against Athletic Club, once again, is at San Mames and will be away from home. Luckily for them, it is their final game away from the Bernabeu as part of the current streak.
The ideal solution to the situation is to improve the performance away from home, but temporarily returning to their fans may help improve the mood in the camp and thus the team’s performance.
A win over Athletic Club, however, will help the team at least pick up one more win from their otherwise torrid time on the road and bring them to believe that the venue is not as much of a factor as it seems to be.
The final game of the away spell, thus, will be a crucial one from a psychological sense for the dressing room and the team must go all out to beat a struggling Athletic Club.
Poor conversion rate
Real Madrid’s attack has almost been synonymous with Kylian Mbappe, for the Frenchman has single-handedly carried them in the final third so far this season.
Apart from his heroics, however, the men in white have had a dismal record in front of goal and have struggled to put away the chances they have created.
For starters, the team still has no clear-cut preferred right-winger, with Alonso yet to identify his best player for the position. That, coupled with Vinicius Jr.’s inconsistent goalscoring form, leads the team to a situation where they have only one reliable name to convert chances.
As it stands, Real Madrid are amongst the bottom-6 teams in the league in terms of converting chances from their xG and have scored four fewer goals than they should have in their last three games alone.
There is, thus, a real need to be more clinical in front of goal and the team must look to get back on track on that front from tomorrow’s game against the Basque side.
Notably, however, Athletic Club are also having a struggle scoring goals this season and have scored just 14 goals in as many games this season. The battle will thus be one between two teams underperforming in attack.
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.
