For the first time since the start of the new season, Real Madrid has found itself in the midst of searing heat as their skeleton has been laid bare in the last three games with one draw and two losses against relatively undercooked oppositions.
The unravelling started against UEL champions, Villareal, as Los Blancos failed to sink the Yellow Submarines despite a superior performance. They kept on knocking around to find a way, but the Villareal rearguard seemed airtight and wouldn’t leak a modicum of space to Madrid.
Following the league defeat at the hands of Villareal, they suffered a shock drubbing at the hands of Moldovan outfit, Sheriff, as Sebastien Thiel hammered a screamer in the dying embers. Once again, after dishing out an attacking masterclass, the finishing line wasn’t crossed.
To add to their woes, Espanyol got the better of the thirteen-time European champions in a closely-contested encounter, Raul de Tomas and Aleix Vidal hammered home while Benzema’s late strike was only good enough to reduce the arrears.
One of the primary concerns for Real has been their defence in recent times. It has been way too slippery and despite the introduction of David Alaba in the transfer window, the chemistry in the rearguard has been inexplicably incoherent.
In this story, we will be taking a look at three reasons why Real Madrid has been split open in the last three fixtures and what exactly is to come ahead.
#1 The changes made by Ancelotti are way too many
Substitutes play an instrumental role in shaping the fortunes of the game. It is also important that the ones who are coming on, need to hold their nerves and egg the players who are in for a longer span of time to keep the formations intact or inject a new verve to shift the dynamics.
However, Ancelotti’s substitutions have simply seemed clueless on the field and their woes have compounded in the last three games. When you are trailing by a goal, the introduction of subs signifies tactical changes and also fresh legs which means more running and more exploits. However, if someone is running haywire for the remaining minutes, it becomes excessively challenging for the team to reel things back in.
#2 Lack of co-ordination in the defence
The center-back pairing of Eder Militao and Nacho has been completely off the charts and the duo simply didn’t gel well at all. This combination was forged after the pairing of Militao and Alaba at the heart of the rearguard failed to get things done. Somehow, Militao has been extremely sluggish and Alaba has felt out of place in the center.
With his shift to the more natural left-back position, he was a lot more prolific and found his natural game. The switch between Valverde, Guiterrez and Lucas Vasquez has left the defence in consistent pursuit of a stable connection and decent communication that has been seen in absentia. Ancelotti will have to come up with a solid connection between the back four to avert further slip-ups in the league.
# 3 The attacking unit has been in shambles
Barring Karim Benzema, the other two attackers have been completely lackadaisical and have lacked the sting to do any potential harm to the opposition. Vinicius Jr.’s profligacy upfront has been extremely glaring and the occasional deployment of Rodrygo hasn’t done a world of good to Los Merengues. They have fallen short in the sting and have been downright toothless.
Benzema has aged like fine wine and continues to score irrespective of the situation. Maybe, in the following year, Mbappe will be coming over, however, for the ongoing one, Ancelotti will have to spot a solution for the goal-scoring conundrum.
