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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo | La Liga MD15
After a long month on the road, Real Madrid finally return to the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night to lock horns against Celta Vigo in La Liga.
The spell away from home was anything but memorable for Los Blancos as it began with a 1-0 defeat to Liverpool and was followed by three successive draws in La Liga against Rayo Vallecano (0-0), Elche (2-2), and Girona (1-1).
The last game before returning home, however, saw them register a 3-0 win over Athletic Club.
Tomorrow, the men in white will look to continue making amends to the steep fall they experienced in the league standings and will have to take all three points if they are to even hope of overtaking Barcelona.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo.
A fresh defensive problem
Real Madrid may well have taken all three points against Athletic Club midweek, but the game brought with it complications that Xabi Alonso will rue ahead of a crucial part of the season.
The big blow that Los Blancos suffered on the night was the injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold, who seemingly was just finding his way to establishing himself as a valuable player under Xabi Alonso.
The setback to the new signing leaves him ruled out of action for at least two months, while Dani Carvajal is also not expected to return until late this month or early in January.
As a result of the same, Alonso must again look to an unconventional option and all signs point to Federico Valverde playing as Real Madrid’s right-back against Celta.
Real Madrid have some big games coming up in the next few weeks, and the manager will need the midfielder to do a good job playing in the new position – just as he did earlier in the season.
New-look Vinicius
Xabi Alonso has seemingly found Vinicius Jr.’s best position on the field and even openly spoke about the importance of handing the Brazilian star a role he enjoyed. After all, the 25-year-old has been inspiring in Real Madrid’s last three games.
Vinicius racked up a brace of assists in the team’s game against Olympiacos and began to unlock the freedom that has defined him over the years.
Against Girona, he did not hold back in attacking at goal and formed a lethal partnership with Kylian Mbappe despite the game ending in a draw. In fact, he won the penalty that led to the only goal on the night.
Most recently, he shone vs Athletic club at San Mames and continued his good run of form, and all that appears to be missing is a goal.
After a relatively rough start to the season, the winger is finally enjoying his football once again in what comes as a massive relief to Real Madrid’s administration and management. The goal, however, is to make him the lethal goalscoring threat he was not too long ago.
Now given the freedom to play as a second attacker alongside Mbappe, Vinicius will see far more of the goal and all eyes will be on him to see if he can complete his transformation and turn his season around.
Eyes on the midweek clash
As important as Real Madrid’s game against Celta Vigo at the weekend is in terms of the league standing and catching Barcelona on that front, it is safe to say that Xabi Alonso and Co. will have one eye firmly fixed on the game coming up midweek.
After all, the men in white are set to play host to Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League next week in a fixture that has almost become a routine part of Real Madrid’s season now.
Having been out of form over the past month, the game provides the right stage for Los Blancos to announce their return to being a devastating force, but the Sky Blues will be no easy opposition either.
In preparation for the same, Alonso may well decide to rotate his squad to a minor extent tomorrow – especially given Real Madrid’s solid record against the Galicians over the years.
Not many changes are expected at the back, but one can expect the likes of Dani Ceballos and Brahim Diaz to possibly get more minutes with names like Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni good candidates to merit some rest.
Rotations, after all, are crucial at this point in 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.
