As Real Madrid once again failed to win, let's take a look at the key reasons as to why the team was not able to get the three points on this occasion
On Friday evening, Real Madrid failed to win for a third consecutive game, dropping points in back-to-back La Liga games as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona.
This result makes the league title that much harder to win, albeit Barcelona could well drop points ahead of their important Champions League second leg away to Atletico Madrid. Nevertheless, it was once again very suboptimal.
So, what went wrong in the capital?
Yet again, the team's balance felt very off. There was, again, nothing down the right side whatsoever. If you look at the team's average positions, it is incredibly lopsided. Brahim Diaz and Vinicius are on the left side, whilst Kylian Mbappe is ever so slightly to the right.
The nominal right winger during the game, Federico Valverde, is incredibly central. The only player close to holding width on the right was Dani Carvajal, and 1) he is too old and physically past it to do so, and 2) he was inverting anyway.
This makes it much easier for a team to sit in and defend against predictable attacks. There were a couple of good chances, it should be said, and if they had been taken, it would have been a different story. However, in general, it was a stale performance.
How many good games have Mbappe and Vinicius had together since the Frenchman joined? Maybe five at most. It is usually one or the other, or simply neither. Last night, we saw Mbappe have a nightmare. Vinicius was better, but certainly not at his best either.
The midfield is a big concern. Although it was a clean strike from Thomas Lemar to equalize, there is no way he should be allowed that much time and space to pick his spot. Once again, Eduardo Camavinga was nowhere near where he should have been.
It is clear how important Aurelien Tchouameni is for the team. Considering he is suspended for the second leg against Bayern Munich, it really does beg the question as to why he did not start this game.
If Alvaro Arbeloa is to use this 442 system, it is clear he should play Vinicius off the left-hand side, whilst using Gonzalo Garcia up front with Mbappe. It is clear that the team needs an outlet to play off of. Let's hope he can learn from his mistakes as soon as possible, before it is too late for Real Madrid.
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