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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Elche | La Liga MD 28
Real Madrid are still flying high in the euphoria of their stellar midweek performance against Manchester City – one that will go down in history for Federico Valverde’s first-half hat-trick.
Before the reverse fixture in England next week, however, Los Blancos have another mission to complete. They play host to Elche at the Santiago Bernabeu and cannot afford to drop points in the La Liga title race.
Elche are currently in 17th place in the league standings and have fallen off after a positive start to the season. They have won just five games in the league so far, losing and drawing on 11 occasions each.
Furthermore, they are winless in their last 11 games across all competitions and have lost seven of them.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Elche.
Crucial intermediary
Given the course Real Madrid’s season has taken so far, not many expected half as dominant a performance from them against Manchester City as they delivered.
The Merengues, after all, have been struggling in La Liga in recent weeks and are being tormented by a massive injury crisis, one that saw them enter the UCL game as slight underdogs.
Taking to the field, however, they were dominant over Pep Guardiola’s side and took a 3-0 lead on the night, setting the stage for their progression to the UCL quarterfinal.
At the level of the Champions League and given how the Cityzens will try to push for a comeback at Etihad Stadium next week, however, it is clear that Real Madrid must be up for a gruelling clash in England.
Tomorrow’s game, thus, becomes crucial as the one intermediary between the two legs of the tie against Manchester City. Managing the squad, performance, result and optimising resources adequately, needless to say, will be easier said than done.
Alvaro Arbeloa will have pressure on his shoulders right from selecting the right XI, rotating key players, and striking the balance between the best XI and a competitive XI on the night.
An interesting stylistic clash
Real Madrid, over the years, has carved out a reputation as being one of football’s most dynamic teams that can play against any tactics. In recent times, however, that has not been the case.
Despite being a team who thrive on counter-attacks, Los Blancos are often the ones with more possession and control over proceedings especially in domestic games. They often face low blocks and are forced to break down defences.
Elche, however, bring a completely different style of football to the table as they closely mimic the Barcelona style – play high with all-out attack, a tireless press, and a high defensive line.
Taking on Elche, thus, will be challenging for Real Madrid on two fronts. First, they will not be able to dominate possession as much as they would want to.
More importantly, Elche’s dominance may open the doors to Thibaut Courtois’ goal multiple times given how the Real Madrid defence is still shaky.
Concurrently, however, Los Blancos will also look at Elche’s high line as a potential attacking opportunity as they should be able to get behind the defenders with the right tactics.
The tactical battle on Saturday, thus, will be fascinating to witness.
Two left backs out
An unexpected injury to Alvaro Carreras kept the player out of the Celta Vigo and Manchester City games, and he was expected to be back in just a few days. As it stands, however, he appears to be out of tomorrow’s game too.
In the Spaniard’s place, Arbeloa opted to hand Ferland Mendy the start to make a statement at Real Madrid and prove fans wrong that he is now past his injury crisis.
Unfortunately, however, the inevitable has struck again and Mendy is back on the sidelines, this time with a hamstring injury that appears set to keep him out for the next week or so.
The situation at left-back, thus, demands Fran Garcia’s return to the lineup in what will be a momentous and crucial moment for the player. After all, he has steeply fallen down the manager’s pecking order in recent times.
Garcia came close to leaving Real Madrid in the winter when the club blocked his move and forced him to stay. It is unclear what will transpire around his future next summer, but tomorrow’s clash will be a massive one for him regardless.
Be it to impress the manager or potential destinations, Garcia must look to bring his A game on the night for there is too much on the line for him.
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.
