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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Pachuca | FIFA Club World Cup
If Xabi Alonso was hoping for a statement win from his men in his first game in charge as the Real Madrid manager, he could not have been more disappointed.
The new manager, after all, oversaw his team play out a terrible opening 45 minutes and scamper to a 1-1 draw.
Later tonight, they take to the field in their second game of the event in the United States and face off against Mexican side Pachuca who lost their first game in the competition to RB Salzburg earlier in the week.
Alonso has a lot to ponder ahead of kick-off, right from his starting lineup to the dynamics he wishes to impose.
What will be under the spotlight, needless to say, is whether the men in white show any tangible improvement from last time.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Pachuca.
A surprising re-match
Real Madrid facing Pachuca in the FIFA Club World Cup in itself is a pleasant surprise, especially considering the manner in which they met recently just towards the end of last year.
For two clubs to face each other once in a cross-continental event is rare enough, and the two teams managed to pull off a date with each other last December in the final of the Intercontinental Cup.
The event, in fact, was initially known as the Club World Cup until the idea for the current competition was envisaged last summer.
Having met in the ‘former’ Club World Cup a few months ago, the two teams are set to face off once again in the ‘new’ version of the competition and one is forced to wonder what a rare combination has struck that the Intercontinental Cup finalists have been drawn into the same group once more.
Contrary to popular expectation, the meeting between the two teams last year was fiercely fought and far from one-sided despite Real Madrid being overwhelming favourites.
The 3-0 scoreline may project a stroll in the park for Los Blancos on the night but the first half was tense and Real Madrid had few chances to boast of.
Tonight, they will look to replicate a similar result, although they will be aware this time of the threat the Mexican side can bring to the table.
Should Brahim Diaz start?
For his first game in charge as the Real Madrid manager, Alonso opted to deploy Rodrygo Goes as his right-winger, and the Brazilian returned with a crucial assist for the team.
Beyond that, however, he did not offer too much special, and Brahim Diaz replacing him past the hour mark saw significantly more threat created from the position.
Ahead of tonight’s clash, the new manager faces a dilemma of whether he should persist with Rodrygo or give Brahim the start against Pachuca. After all, there is a real need for someone to step up on the flank.
Vinicius Jr. has looked off colour for a long time now, and Kylian Mbappe is set to miss out once more against the Mexican side. The player who starts on the right, thus, may well prove to be the most important cog in the final third.
Diaz has done enough in recent training sessions and his opportunity earlier this week to earn the manager’s trust and reports earlier this week made it clear that the coach heavily counts on the Moroccan star in both the medium and the long term.
Tonight could be a big night for the winger who has been longing for a break at the club of his dreams for a long time now.
A must-win of sorts
In a competition with only three games for each team in the group stage, every result counts monumentally. Real Madrid may be the favourites to make it past the group stage but their draw against Al-Hilal did not earn them any favours.
Ahead of match-day 2, Los Blancos are on just one point after their unexpected draw with Al-Hilal and sit behind RB Salzburg who took down Pachuca with a 2-1 scoreline.
Two games remain in the group stage and tonight is the men in white’s easiest game of the group stage.
Given that Salzburg could give Los Blancos a real tough time, taking all three points against Pachuca is absolutely crucial.
A win tonight will take the Merengues to four points, and put them in a good place to qualify. Should they drop even two points, they will sit on two points and could risk losing out on making it out of the group. A big test awaits.
The UEFA Champions League is finally back, and Real Madrid take to the field on Tuesday night in a massive matchday one clash against reigning Serie A champions Inter Milan.
The Nerazzurri were on fire domestically last season and have begun the new season as strongly, while Real Madrid’s campaign has been quite a mixed bag so far.
On Tuesday night, Los Blancos will face their biggest test of the season yet, which comes right after their defeat to Real Betis in La Liga.
And the clash will be all the more complicated by the fact that manager Jose Mourinho has some key absences from the squad.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Inter Milan.
Enter the Champions League
For all of Real Madrid’s greatness in the UEFA Champions League over the years, the club have struggled to make their presence felt in the competition in the past couple of seasons.
The past two years have been all about Paris Saint-Germain in the competition, and Luis Enrique’s side are even looking to go after Real Madrid’s historic three-peat at the event this season.
In that sense, and given the team’s poor performances over the past two editions of the Champions League, this season’s edition becomes all the more important and it all kicks off tomorrow night.
Los Blancos have currently featured only in one competition under Mourinho after the Special One’s return, and tomorrow’s game will mark the beginning of a new avenue on their schedule.
With the Champions League anthem set to grace the Santiago Bernabeu once more, Real Madrid must look to treat it as a fresh start in the event and give their all.
After all, they continue to be perennial favourites in the competition, but another stale performance this season could begin to create doubts about whether Real Madrid are indeed worthy of such a title.
A midfield crisis
Real Madrid face a serious midfield crisis ahead of the clash against Inter Milan on Tuesday night, and Mourinho openly admitted to the same in his pre-match press conference.
After all, Eduardo Camavinga, Bernardo Silva and Arda Guler are all suspended for the clash against the Serie A side as they carry forward last season’s sanctions.
Furthermore, Aurelien Tchouameni is only just returning from injury and is nowhere close to being fit to start. He may feature on the bench, but playing from the get-go is close to impossible.
In that sense, Mourinho has only Federico Valverde to count on as a player to feature in the double pivot tomorrow, and he stares at a difficult decision as to whom to field alongside the Uruguayan star.
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been rumoured to be a top candidate to play alongside Valverde although Mourinho refused to comment on that possibility.
Another option that has been growing in recent hours is a young name meriting a start, likely either Jorge Cestero or Sergio Martinez.
Given the weight of the game and how important a win is tomorrow night, it remains to be seen how Mourinho addresses the personnel crisis in midfield. He does have his options, but picking the right one from them will not be simple.
Real Madrid’s toughest test yet
There are two mutually independent aspects to the difficulty of the clash that awaits Real Madrid midweek.
The first, and most obvious reason to flag the game as Real Madrid’s most difficult clash of the season thus far has to do with the opponent themselves.
Inter Milan, after all, are the reigning Italian champions and have enjoyed a great start to the new season with three wins in three games domestically.
In those three games, they have scored eight goals and conceded three times. Notably, their most recent clash involved a comeback from 2-0 down to a 3-2 win against Napoli in what was a statement performance.
Beyond that, however, Real Madrid have made the situation complicated for themselves by taking a blow to their momentum at a critical moment in the season.
Los Blancos suffered a 1-0 defeat to Real Betis at the weekend and handed the lead in La Liga to Barcelona after a performance which was disappointing in an attacking sense.
With the spirits in the dressing room at a relative low after that clash, it is not ideal for Mourinho’s men to face Inter Milan in the immediate next game.
It thus remains to be seen how Los Blancos turn up on the night against a difficult opposition at a relatively complicated moment. All eyes will be on the big clash.
