Real Madrid are suffering and on the verge of a crisis. They are not playing well at all, and they are working overly hard - with slices of luck - to earn points in their league games, whether playing at home or away.
The latest setback came against Las Palmas; a team well known for its possession-based style of play. They frustrated Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium despite conceding an early goal, and put on a fantastic performance to prove that, despite their recent poor form and deteriorating position in the table, they truly are one of the best teams in Spain. What was disappointing most about Madrid though was that they looked as if it were the first time they face the Canari Islanders. Zidane shuffled his pack and rested both Modric and Casemiro, the team's most capable defensive players in midfield, and ordered the midfield trio of Kovacic, Kroos and Isco to push forward and press the Las Palmas lines high. The outcome was all too predictable. Las Palmas thrived in moving the ball well and coming out of their areas, and hit Madrid where it hurts them most: the wide areas in which Carvajal and Marcelo were also too prone defensively, as they heavily focused on their attacking game. Jese had a great game and showed his qualities, and Ramos and Nacho were left brutally exposed time and again. Then, in the second half, to make matters even worse, Bale lost his temper after chasing Jonathan Perreira without being able to cut the ball. The Las Palmas player provoked Bale and the referee didn't hesitate in giving the Welsh his marching orders.
The latest setback came against Las Palmas; a team well known for its possession-based style of play. They frustrated Madrid in the Santiago Bernabeu stadium despite conceding an early goal, and put on a fantastic performance to prove that, despite their recent poor form and deteriorating position in the table, they truly are one of the best teams in Spain. What was disappointing most about Madrid though was that they looked as if it were the first time they face the Canari Islanders. Zidane shuffled his pack and rested both Modric and Casemiro, the team's most capable defensive players in midfield, and ordered the midfield trio of Kovacic, Kroos and Isco to push forward and press the Las Palmas lines high. The outcome was all too predictable. Las Palmas thrived in moving the ball well and coming out of their areas, and hit Madrid where it hurts them most: the wide areas in which Carvajal and Marcelo were also too prone defensively, as they heavily focused on their attacking game. Jese had a great game and showed his qualities, and Ramos and Nacho were left brutally exposed time and again. Then, in the second half, to make matters even worse, Bale lost his temper after chasing Jonathan Perreira without being able to cut the ball. The Las Palmas player provoked Bale and the referee didn't hesitate in giving the Welsh his marching orders.
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Two goals followed from Las Palmas and so it was practically game over. The comeback against Villarreal in the weekend seemed a minor task now that the team was playing with 10 men and facing immense pressure from the stands. But this is why Real Madrid are so special. Even with all this mess of a performance and result, they kept going and managed to score two goals in the final minutes to salvage a point, when in fact the reality was that they dropped two priceless points.
So back to ground zero. Ever since all players returned from injury and Zidane fielded his preferred 4-3-3 starting XI, the team seemed to face the same old tactical issues. Ronaldo is no longer filling the left-wing position, forcing Marcelo to do all the hard work by himself, and taking into consideration Kroos's (or whoever is playing in his position) slow pace and inability to cover the areas well defensively, opposition teams are purposely exposing this weakness and hurting Madrid. The same story on the right side, although to a less extent, because Bale does occasionally track back and help out Modric and Carvajal with their defensive duties. This is why Ramos and Varane's mistakes are increasing more and more, and this is why Casemiro's presence is essential; no one in the team can do what he does defensively. This in turn puts another problem under the focus, which is Casemiro's immobility when the team has the ball. Almost all opposition teams now tend to disconnect Modric and Kroos from each other and limit their offensive and creative influence on the front three, obliging them to always look for Marcelo or Carvajal to show up on the flank and then have no option but to cross the ball into the area (an increasingly frustrating issue over the past few games), or return it back and thus killing the attack off. And when that happens, the team becomes in need of another driving force from midfield, and that is what Casemiro lacks. This case was exactly demonstrated against Villarreal, when Isco replaced the Brazilian and everything ticked in midfield again. Therefore, despite his indispensable defensive contribution, Casemiro can unfortunately turn out to be an attacking liability for Real.
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The solution is in Zidane's hands. As long as there were injuries and absences, he was able (or rather forced) to tinker with the formation in order to achieve the ultimate balance. But now that everyone is on board again, it is his responsibility to proactively modify his tactics for the team's best interests. No longer should he continue to ignore Morata just to stand beside Benzema, nor should he stick so stubbornly to the 4-3-3 formation. The upcoming league games are extremely difficult and important. The team's reaction to the previous results should be strong enough to beat Eibar, Betis and Bilbao, and of course to prevent Napoli from a very possible comeback. Zidane, more than anyone, knows that he will solely be judged by major trophies at the end of the season.
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Over to you then, Zizou.
