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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Girona | La Liga MD 31
Real Madrid are wounded after back-to-back defeats and will be looking to get back to winning ways once more when they take to the field on Friday.
Los Blancos have one game nestled between the two legs of the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals against Bayern Munich, and it is Girona they face on Friday night at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Notably, Michel’s side held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw when they met earlier this season and it was only a penalty by Kylian Mbappe that helped the team equalise Azzedine Ounahi’s opening strike.
This time around, they will look to take revenge although they must do so with great care so as to not damage any of their chances in the massive game next week.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Girona.
No room to slip up
Coming back from the international break, Real Madrid has lost two out of two games. While the recent one to Bayern Munich was understandable given the quality of the opponent, the result against Mallorca was a shocker.
Having dropped three points, Real Madrid took a massive blow to their hopes in the league title race, one where they already trailed Barcelona by four points.
With the Catalans beating Atletico Madrid in La Liga, they now have a seven-point lead over Real Madrid, and with just eight games to go, have one hand on the trophy already.
At this point, Los Blancos are hanging in the title race by a thread and any further slip-up will see them definitively out of the running. The game against Girona, thus, is critical.
While Real Madrid would have loved to have some breathing space ahead of the second leg against Bayern Munich, they simply cannot afford any further slip-ups in La Liga, and balancing both objectives becomes a difficult task.
Rotations are a must
As important as it is for Real Madrid to take the win on Friday night, there is barely any doubt that they will see the UCL game against Bayern Munich as their primary priority.
Alvaro Arbeloa, thus, will undoubtedly look to hand his starters some rest on the night, and the only question is around the extent to which he will rotate.
Given how it is important to secure a result against Girona as well, it becomes critical that the manager does not go overboard with his rotations and strikes the right balance. After all, Girona already took two points off Real Madrid earlier this season.
For starters, the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger and possibly even Alvaro Carreras can start on the bench given the availability of quality alternative options. All three, after all, have good chances of starting midweek.
In midfield, the likes of Federico Valverde and Arda Guler could benefit from some rest and Aurelien Tchouameni can be handed a bigger role. After all, the Frenchman is suspended for the reverse fixture against Bayern Munich.
Whether or not the coach sees Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr. as starters against Girona remains another massive decision, one that can potentially change the direction the result flows.
Two stars to make a case
Two big names who did not start Real Madrid’s game against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu were Jude Bellingham and Eder Militao – both of whom were coming back from injuries.
The decision to start Militao on the bench was taken keeping in mind his fragile fitness in recent times and the need to avoid a relapse. After he came on, however, the team’s defensive performance immediately improved on the night.
Bellingham, on the other hand, was benched in favour of Thiago Pitarch despite reportedly having been completely fit and ready for the game. The manager’s decision infuriated him, and he will be pumped to show why he deserves to be an undisputed starter.
Arbeloa has already confirmed that Bellingham and Militao will be starting against Girona and both will be looking for statement performances to deliver.
With the reverse fixture against Bayern Munich just days away, their performance on Friday may directly impact their participation and starting berth at the Allianz Arena. The special night it may well be, both will not wish to miss out on a place in the XI.
The derby weekend is here as Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid are set to lock horns on Sunday afternoon at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano.
After an eventful transfer window and a stuttering start, Atletico Madrid reaffirmed their position as genuine title contenders and have done decently well so far this season.
With four wins, a draw and a defeat to their name, they sit on 13 points after six games.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, have only had one defeat and are on 15 points after as many games, only behind Barcelona who sit on a perfect record.
Diego Simeone’s men had a shaky start to the season, but have picked up steam in recent weeks with seven goals scored and none conceded in their last two games.
Given their strong record against Real Madrid at home, they will look to take all three points tomorrow.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid.
A test away from home
It is no secret that Real Madrid’s form on the road this season has been poor, not necessarily for the results themselves but how the team have conducted themselves in away grounds.
For the first time in years, there appears to be a sense of uncertainty around Los Blancos’ ability to produce results away from home.
For long periods in the game, they appear willing to hand over the momentum, and the resultant pressure has seen them collapse.
A last-gasp winner from Carlos Espi handed them the win against Espanyol away from home, and they went on to lose against Real Betis in their second away fixture of the season.
Most recently, they bottled a 2-0 lead against Elche and again required a stoppage-time winner from Espi to take the three points.
Tomorrow’s game, in that sense, is extremely challenging, for it is not only away from home but against an opposition of high quality.
Playing Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano is as challenging as games get, and Real Madrid have an extremely poor record at the venue.
Since 2017, Real Madrid have only won twice at the Metropolitano with three defeats and three draws. Last season, they suffered a 5-2 defeat and the game went on to break the team’s momentum.
Heading into such a tricky clash with an ongoing crisis away from home makes Sunday’s clash very complicated for the Merengues.
Arda Guler has to return
After a long time, Jose Mourinho took the Yan Diomande experiment to the next level and handed the player back-to-back starts for Real Madrid.
Clearly, the new signing still has a long way to go in terms of his adaptation, but he has been promising as an attacking outlet in his few appearances.
Diomande started both against Rayo Vallecano and Elche, but there is a strong case to drop him for the Madrid derby and play Arda Guler instead.
The Turkish international was on the bench against Rayo Vallecano and played as a No. 10 against Elche, with Jude Bellingham rested. Now, with the Englishman set to return, the manager has a decision to make.
Mourinho has made it clear that he wishes to ease Diomande into Real Madrid’s dynamics to reduce the pressure on his shoulders. Fielding him from the start in a derby would contradict that idea.
Beyond that, however, Guler has shown far more utility and promise as an attacking and creative outlet than Diomande, making the right-wing decision quite clear for the manager.
Real Madrid with and without Guler have been two completely different stories this season, and the team will require every last bit of creative inspiration that he has in him to get past Atletico Madrid tomorrow afternoon.
There is also a case for Brahim Diaz to be brought in, and the Moroccan star is also probably ahead of Diomande on the pecking order. Guler, however, stands out as a top option even ahead of Brahim.
Eyes on Vinicius Jr.
For years, Vinicius Jr. has always utilised the big stages to make his statements, for he has been a player to speak through performances and not words.
For instance, he scored a stunning solo goal last season against Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup at a time when he was least expected to do so. At that point, he had not scored in 16 straight games, but the big moment called out to him.
It is clear that the Brazilian is not going through his best moment right now once again. The past few weeks have been hard on him, especially after he did well at the World Cup and returned to Madrid with higher expectations on him.
So far this season, Vinicius has only scored one goal in seven games. Beyond the goals, however, he has not looked like his usual threatening self on the flank and has not created half as many chances as he usually would.
Such is the player’s situation that his place in the team is being called into doubt for the first time in years. After all, Yan Diomande can play on the left and showed glimpses of his ability in the previous game.
All eyes, thus, will be on Vinicius on Sunday to see if he can step up to the occasion and make his presence felt when it really matters. He has always been one for the big stage, and tomorrow’s stage is the biggest yet this season.
