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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs AS Monaco | UEFA Champions League
Having scored their first win after two back-to-back defeats at the weekend, Real Madrid will look to ride the momentum as they prepare for a big game against AS Monaco on Tuesday night.
The team’s last three games have been in three different competitions, and tomorrow night’s will be in a fourth completely different event. Having now been denied silverware in two of those four, the UEFA Champions League becomes a priority.
Los Blancos currently sit in seventh place on the league stage leaderboard with 12 points. There are, however, as many as 15 teams on ten or more points and Real Madrid must win to keep their place in the top-eight safe.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of AS Monaco vs Real Madrid.
Fran Garcia’s big chance
Real Madrid enter the game against AS Monaco with absentees from all over the defensive department.
Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao continue to be massive misses in central defence, while Dani Carvajal is the only available natural right-back as Trent Alexander-Arnold is still not fit enough to return from injury.
While most of the aforementioned developments are not new, the Champions League clash sees the manager with only one option at left-back as well – Fran Garcia.
Ferland Mendy’s fitness has been horrendous once more this season, and the Frenchman is ruled out of the game tomorrow. Meanwhile, Alvaro Carreras misses the game through suspension and has been left out of the squad.
Garcia, therefore, is poised for a rare start in the Champions League and it will be a massive chance for him to show Alvaro Arbeloa what he is capable of.
After all, he did have the favour of Xabi Alonso, but the arrival of a new manager means that he too will have to start from scratch and earn his place in the team.
Moreover, with Real Madrid likely to sell one of the existing left-backs in the summer, Garcia has all the more motivation to make his value felt. Tomorrow’s game is a rare and important chance for the Spaniard.
Winning over the Santiago Bernabeu
Real Madrid’s run away from the Santiago Bernabeu have not been positive in recent times, but the home stadium is also beginning to feel less like family at this point for Los Blancos.
While November and December’s runs away from home was disastrous for Real Madrid, the Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey fallouts in January came as an even bigger blow to the team’s season.
Unsurprisingly, the men in white were greeted by loud boos during the team’s game against Levante back at the Bernabeu, for the fans made their dissatisfaction with the team’s form very clear on the night.
The likes of Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Federico Valverde were booed more loudly than others, while Kylian Mbappe and Gonzalo Garcia were spared by the public. All in all, however, the relationship between the fans and the players is not promising.
Given the team’s recent run, the supporters cannot be blamed for their reaction and the team must take it up as a sign to wake up and do better. After all, only a convincing performance can help them win back the Bernabeu’s favour once more.
Tomorrow’s game against Monaco, hence, is a massive one for Real Madrid as the team will look to dish out a convincing 90 minutes of football to not only win but make fans feel like the team is back.
Guler’s opportunity
Real Madrid’s first-half against Levante was not anything to brag about, for Los Blancos seemed lost for ideas, creativity and control against the visitors.
At half-time, Alvaro Arbeloa introduced Arda Guler as an option to undo all the wrongs of the first-period and the young Turkish star did not disappoint.
Guler not only played a role in Kylian Mbappe’s penalty sequence that opened the scoring for Real Madrid but also provided the assist for Raul Asencio’s second-goal on the night. The substitute, thus, could not have had a bigger impact.
He was one of the two players who impressed the manager the most on the night, and all signs point to him earning a start against Monaco tomorrow in the UEFA Champions League.
After a bright start to the season under Xabi Alonso, Guler’s prominence was on a gradual decline as the former manager reached his final weeks at the club.
Now, having shown Arbeloa his quality, he will likely have a chance to move back up the pecking order once more. Needless to say, it will be a massive chance for him to earn back a regular starting spot.
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.
