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Three talking points ahead of Girona vs Real Madrid | La Liga MD 14
Real Madrid’s away tour continues this weekend as they travel to Estadi Montilivi to take on Girona on Sunday night.
Los Blancos head to the game provisionally displaced as league leaders by Barcelona, who won their game against Deportivo Alaves on Saturday evening. The pressure, needless to say, is now on them.
Having dropped points in their last two league games, the men in white will be keen to take all three points tomorrow, return to winning ways, and reclaim their position as league leaders.
Any misstep, however, will see them forfeit the lead to Barcelona – something that would be simply unacceptable given Real Madrid’s strong start to the season and El Clasico win which helped them create a sizeable lead not too long ago.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Girona vs Real Madrid.
No room to falter
The past month has not been Real Madrid’s best by any measure and has seen Xabi Alonso’s side slip from a position of dominance to their lowest point in the campaign so far.
Their downfall began at Anfield at the beginning of this month and then got worse when they only managed a goalless draw against Real Valladolid in their final game before the international break.
Returning from the hiatus, many expected them to turn up refreshed and raring to go but they again managed only a 2-2 draw against Elche away from home. Having dropped points in their last two league games, they do not have much scope to make any more errors.
After all, their slip-ups allowed Barcelona to get right back into the race and the Catalans are now marginally ahead of them, albeit having already played this matchday. A win tomorrow is a must.
A department refreshed
The past few games have been complicated affairs for Real Madrid given the lack of natural defenders being available for selection, forcing Xabi Alonso to venture into rather unconventional pairings to help the team tide through the period.
While Dean Huijsen did start for Los Blancos against Elche, the manager was without David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, and Eder Militao through injury.
The Spaniard, however, also missed the team’s game against Olympiacos alongside the aforementioned three, leaving the manager with only Raul Asencio as the available natural centre-back option.
In that regard, there are developments ahead of tomorrow’s clash at Montilivi as Real Madrid’s defence will be relatively refreshed on the night.
Ahead of the game, Xabi Alonso confirmed that Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao will return to the squad, handing the team a major boost. Unfortunately, however, Asencio’s participation remains in doubt after he contracted gastroenteritis.
It remains to be seen who the manager deploys at the back from the start, especially if Asencio is indeed unavailable.
While Militao is also coming back from injury, he can start given his match rhythm but the same cannot be said about Rudiger who has been out of action for several months now.
The midfield puzzle
While Xabi Alonso is indeed spoilt for options in midfield, he is yet to find the golden partnership that brings the best out of the best players in the department.
After all, much of the season has passed with one player’s rise coinciding with another’s fall, and the tactical mismatch is one of the primary reasons for the same.
The plan at the beginning of the season was to count on Jude Bellingham as a central midfielder and Arda Guler as an attacking midfielder, and with the Englishman’s shoulder surgery, the latter got chances and impressed in that department.
Bellingham’s return, however, complicated matters in that respect especially because it soon forced Alonso to deploy him as an attacking midfielder. After all, he shines best behind the striker, but that takes Guler away from his best position.
For most of the season since his return, Bellingham has operated just behind the striker. The team’s latest game against Olympiacos which saw great control in the middle, however, saw the side adapt a different setup, one that again complicates matters.
Bellingham can indeed still operate right behind the duo of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius in this new setup, but that takes Guler farther away from where he would like to play. Moreover, it drops Eduardo Camavinga from the XI and compromises the press.
Heading into tomorrow’s game, Alonso will look to experiment and take another step towards solving the seemingly unsolvable midfield puzzle. After all, there is a real need to identify the best setup ahead of the business end of the season.
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.
