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Three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Villarreal
Villarreal are one of the few La Liga teams Real Madrid have consistently struggled against. The Yellow Submarines are a tough nut to crack, and recent results between the sides tell all there is to know about their equation.
The two teams met earlier this season at Estadio de La Ceramica in La Liga in January. Quique Setien’s men got the better of Real Madrid on the night with a 63rd-minute goal by Gerard Moreno.
They met again two weeks later, this time in the Round of 16 of the Copa del Rey. Once again, Villarreal went 2-0 up early in the game but an inspired second-half comeback saw Los Blancos advance in the competition.
The Merengues have failed to win against the Yellow Submarines in their last three La Liga meetings and thus head into Saturday’s clash with a point to prove. Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Real Madrid vs Villarreal.
1. The dream run
The version of Real Madrid that returned after the international break has been something special. The Merengues found themselves under serious pressure after the league Clasico defeat to Barcelona last month, but their last two performances have brushed it off.
Los Blancos returned to club football with a 6-0 demolition of Real Valladolid at the Santiago Bernabeu. A Karim Benzema hattrick and all-round performances from Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo, and Marco Asensio announced to the world Real Madrid’s intent to conquer the competitions they remained in.
Four days later, they faced off against Barcelona in the second leg of the Copa del Rey semifinal and pulled off a stunning 4-0 win to turn around the tie. To have scored ten goals in two games with none conceded speaks volumes of Real Madrid’s form.
The Merengues will look to keep their dream run alive on Saturday and right until the end of the season, for very few teams in world football can claim to outplay them in such a moment.
Benzema and Real Madrid’s return to form could not have come at a better time. Carlo Ancelotti must look to sustain the momentum and keep it going, for the UEFA Champions League and Cup are theirs to lose.
2. A balancing act
A key takeaway from Ancelotti’s press conference was his confidence that the La Liga race was far from over. The Italian’s stance may seem amusing at first considering Barcelona’s 12-point lead. However, nothing can be predicted in the world of sports.
It would indeed be the most professional and spirited approach for Real Madrid to fight for La Liga with their all. The question that looms is – How far is Ancelotti willing to invest in a race that appears lost?
The Merengues face stiff opposition on Saturday in Villarreal. The Yellow Submarines have been a thorn in the capital club’s side in recent years with three draws and a win in their last six meetings.
The three points at home are crucial for Real Madrid’s tiny title hopes. However, the Champions League quarterfinal scheduled just four days later assumes more importance.
The Italian tactician might thus be tempted to rotate his squad on the night to rest his veterans after El Clasico. He finds himself on a tightrope between La Liga and the Champions League and would ideally wish to stay unperturbed on both fronts.
The defence and attack could likely be largely unchanged in the game against Villarreal but chances in midfield are guaranteed.
One could expect Luka Modric and Toni Kroos to drop to the bench with Dani Ceballos and Aurelien Tchouameni taking their places. Federico Valverde will also get a run in midfield and Camavinga could continue at left-back.
3. Tchouameni’s time to shine
Aurelien Tchouameni made a strong start to his career in Spain. Just weeks after his arrival, the media hailed him as the ‘new Casemiro’ and it reached a stage where Ancelotti could not imagine a midfield without the Frenchman at its base.
The FIFA World Cup changed everything. A combination of poor form and fitness problems brought Tchouameni down the pecking order, forcing the manager to turn towards Eduardo Camavinga as a replacement. Since then, there has been no turning back.
Camavinga took his opportunity with both hands and began delivering midfield masterclasses with unreal consistency. The 20-year-old soon displaced his compatriot as Los Blancos’ regular starter and sent him into the shadows.
Tchouameni has started only one of Real Madrid’s last four games across all competitions. He notably was on the bench against Liverpool and both clashes against Barcelona.
Ferland Mendy’s injury could force Camavinga to start at left-back yet again tomorrow, opening up the door for the 23-year-old to start. Tchouameni has a point to prove to Ancelotti on Saturday and will thus look to bring his A-game to the table against tricky opposition.
Roma made Real Madrid suffer for over 80 minutes on Wednesday night, and with a 3-1 lead, looked good for the win.
A flurry of set-pieces and accurate conversion, however, saved Los Blancos and helped them take all three points against the run of play.
The true depth of the club’s forward line was on full show on the night as Kylian Mbappe, Endrick and Carlos Espi all scored for Real Madrid and contributed to the 4-1 win.
What the result once again proved, however, is that the team under Jose Mourinho continues to have severe lacunae that will be punished by any elite European opposition.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Roma 3-4 Real Madrid.
A mess of an encounter
Real Madrid simply seem incapable of winning a game of football without suffering and making a massive mess out of it at this point, and the win last night did not change that perspective in any sense.
Los Blancos were outplayed by Roma for the major part of the night as the hosts played with more intent, attacking freedom and possession against Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho’s men have been unconvincing on the road this season, and last night appeared set to go down as another defeat until a massive turn of events in the final ten minutes.
Earning back-to-back set pieces, Real Madrid managed to convert a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win, but that does not speak to the team’s dominance in any capacity.
In the past, such a remontada would be celebrated as a mark of the team’s mentality, but those feelings do not seem to predominate this time around. Instead, the game is largely being viewed as an outing that exposed Real Madrid’s problems once again, but where they got fortunate enough to take three points.
The signs, at this point, continue to be extremely worrying and Mourinho and Co. have a lot of effort to put in if they are to overturn the team’s situation.
Substitutes outperform the starters
Jose Mourinho’s starting lineup against Roma was a representation of the mental picture the manager has of the team – and was his ‘strongest’ XI on paper.
Summer signings Marc Cucurella and Ibrahima Konate started in defence alongside Antonio Rudiger and Denzel Dumfries.
The ‘Gala’ midfield of Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde joined Jude Bellingham in midfield while Yan Diomande, Vinicius Jr. and Kylian Mbappe all started.
Despite all the big names featuring from the get-go, however, Real Madrid simply failed to create any passage of dominant play, nor did they create regular openings to score. Instead, they remained on the back foot comfortably, and matters only changed after substitutions rolled in.
Mourinho brought on Endrick and Arda Guler at the hour mark, replacing Vinicius and Dumfries, and thereby increased the attacking intensity. With Guler on the field, the team finally had a creative spark and Endrick constantly threatened the box.
Slightly later, the coach brought on Bernardo Silva for Aurelien Tchouameni, handing the team far more stability and control in midfield and restoring some level of order.
The arrivals of Carlos Espi and Alvaro Carreras in the 78th minute finally freed Real Madrid and they managed to pull off the comeback.
Every single one of the players who came on played a significant part in the comeback, be it the stability and creativity Silva and Guler offered or the attacking solutions Endrick and Espi brought. Even Carreras was an upgrade over Marc Cucurella.
How much disarray is too much disarray?
Given how Real Madrid’s midfield has looked this season, there will inevitably come a point when Jose Mourinho pulls the plug on the Valverde-Tchouameni plan.
The manager currently sees the duo as his best defensive midfield combination for the big games, but the disarray in midfield is growing with every game and the duo are unable to provide the control Real Madrid requires.
A breaking point, in that sense, will certainly arrive, but the bigger question is how much disarray is required for the manager to pull the plug on a plan that is clearly not working.
Against Roma last night, the game changed completely after Bernardo Silva came on for Tchouameni, and that alone shows how glaring the midfield problem currently is.
Not only did the Tchouameni-Valverde pairing struggle to keep possession, but they offered no attacking edge or creative spark and even looked shaky defensively.
There is an urgent need to bring the likes of Guler and Bernardo Silva into the starting dynamics for Real Madrid, and only time will tell when Mourinho will decide he has seen enough.
