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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Oviedo | La Liga MD 36
The turmoil at Real Madrid was at an all-time high before El Clasico, and Los Blancos understandably could not perform at the level they would have liked to on the night.
The aftermath of the game, however, has been equally as fascinating especially with Florentino Perez coming out personally for a scathing press conference where he dropped allegation after allegation on Barcelona and defended his position.
Regardless of what the president said, however, the fact remains that the team have severely underperformed this season and the men in white will be keen to turn their situation around in the three games that remain.
On Thursday night, they take to the field against Real Oviedo at the Santiago Bernabeu, and they will look to get back on track with a victory.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Real Oviedo.
A difficult homecoming
Real Madrid’s season has come to an end for all practical purposes and they have no one but themselves to blame for the same.
After all, they were well within reach of Barcelona ahead of the last international break, but their collapse after the same saw all practical hopes fall apart.
That collapse eventually led to Real Madrid officially losing the league title in a direct face-off against Barcelona last weekend at the Spotify Camp Nou in what came as a disastrous blow to the club’s image.
From losing the league title against Barcelona to the severe internal tensions, dressing room clashes, and rift between the manager and players, Real Madrid are in a state of complete disarray.
Tomorrow’s game will be the first clash at the Santiago Bernabeu since most of those developments aggravated, and it will not be an easy homecoming.
The Bernabeu crowd have made their dissatisfaction at the team’s performances clear with their reception over the past few months, and if those performances received the magnitude of boos they did, the atmosphere tomorrow will be very hostile.
Mbappe returns
A lot was said about Kylian Mbappe’s absence for last week’s game against Barcelona, with reports suggesting that he decided to withdraw after learning of not starting in El Clasico.
The decision, however, was purely made keeping the Frenchman’s well-being in mind given that he is returning from injury, and he is now set to be back in Alvaro Arbeloa’s plans tomorrow night.
Real Madrid’s attack looked bleak against Barcelona with Vinicius Jr. and Gonzalo Garcia severely underperforming and Brahim Diaz being the only player making any threatening attacks in the final third.
With Mbappe back available, it remains to be seen which player the Frenchman arrives to replace. More importantly, it will be interesting to see how the team fare with the 27-year-old back in the dynamics.
While there is no doubt that the Frenchman is the team’s biggest threat in front of goal, there is an increasing sense of understanding that his lack of work rate off the ball is affecting them as a group as well.
Mbappe, thus, must look to adapt his ways and ensure that he can contribute to the team’s cause off the ball as well, especially with a new manager coming in soon.
A need to find purpose
The defeat to Barcelona on Sunday marked the end of Real Madrid’s season for all practical purposes, but what is essential for the men in white is that the squad do not see it that way.
There may indeed not be much to play for in terms of accolades or silverware, but that does not mean the game is not without purpose, especially given the situation the club are in.
Wholesale changes are coming in the summer, right from the dressing room to the managerial position. With the internal tensions in the squad at an all-time high, moreover, the administration see a real need for the players to be morally policed.
As a result of all the aforementioned factors, no player is safe at Real Madrid at this point barring a very few set of names. For all the others, the three remaining games will be crucial.
With the team’s project set for a massive change in direction in June, the administration will look to make sales and new signings, and every minute players receive is nothing short of an audition to stake a claim for a place next season.
It is, thus, vital that players find purpose where there seemingly isn’t any. Their mentality will be everything.
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.
