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Three talking points ahead of Olympiacos vs Real Madrid | UEFA Champions League
Tensions are running high in the Spanish capital as Xabi Alonso, the Real Madrid board, and the dressing room appear to be in a three-way battle for power at the club.
Adding to the tension is the fact that the team are winless in three games with two draws and a defeat across competitions. For Real Madrid’s standards, such a run of form is simply unacceptable.
Tomorrow night, Los Blancos return to action, this time against Olympiacos in the UEFA Champions League as their gruelling away schedule continues. The pressure, needless to say, will be on them as they enter the game as favourites.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Olympiacos vs Real Madrid.
Pressure mounting on Alonso
If Real Madrid’s recent slump in form has made one thing clear, it is that Xabi Alonso is not as internally supported as many expected at the beginning of the season.
Recent days have seen several reports emerge over the doubts beginning to creep in about the new manager’s project, and while these are still early days, the extent of scrutiny is worrying.
For starters, it is rumoured that the board themselves are beginning to question Alonso’s credibility and whether he is the right man for the job. Their concern, however, is only fuelled by the deeper lying root cause which is the rift between the players and the manager.
Alonso seems to have lost the locker room with his methods, and some big names in the squad are said to be against him.
With the pressure mounting on Alonso internally and in terms of results, the manager will hope that the team can pull off a win on the night to help take some pressure off his shoulders.
One man standing
While it will indeed be Alonso’s idea to get three points by hook or by crook tomorrow against Olympiacos, the situation at centre-back does not help him in any way.
Ahead of Real Madrid’s game against Elche at the weekend, the coach had just two fit senior players in the department available for selecation – Dean Huijsen and Raul Asencio.
The former, however, experienced discomfort in the buildup to tomorrow’s game and is ruled out of the game. With Antonio Rudiger, David Alaba, and Eder Militao still out, that leaves Asencio as the only fit available centre-back.
Hence, Alonso finds himself in a fix as he must work out a combination that can fill the void and stay solid enough to propel the team to a win. His options, needless to say, are limited.
Aurelien Tchouameni, who is just returning from injury, is an option to fill in alongside Asencio in central defence. Ferland Mendy is another option, although the manager is unlikely to turn to him given his lack of match fitness.
Shifting someone like Alvaro Carreras to centre-back is a third option. In any case, the defence will be fragile come Wednesday and Alonso must be careful picking his lineup.
No room for error
With nine points in four games, Real Madrid currently sit in seventh place on the UEFA Champions League table and are three points behind leaders Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Inter Milan.
After all, they have won all their games in the competition this season barring the defeat to Liverpool on the last match-day – a result that set off their poor run of form which they are yet to recover from.
With four more games to go in the league phase, Real Madrid are currently well-placed to finish in the top eight and directly advance to the knockouts. That, however, will change dramatically if they drop points tomorrow.
While a defeat against Olympiacos will not directly threaten Real Madrid’s chances of direct qualification, one must remember that they are yet to play against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City.
Given the team’s current run of form, a win over the Premier League giants is anything but guaranteed and Real Madrid must thus look to win the three remaining games to stay on the safer side. Tomorrow’s result, therefore, becomes crucial.
For a team in jeopardy both on and off the field, it is easier said than done to win away from home and under pressure, but the men in white have no choice given that future opponents including Benfica and Manchester City pose more serious threats.
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.
