The Real Betis Match Revealed A Lot About Real Madrid

Equilibrio is only half complete

Though on attack, the team seems to have the potential to terrorize and dominate any team in the world, the defense needs some tweaking to be equally reliable.

Keylor could’ve prevented his own goal with a little bit of luck and good form. However, it would have been better if the attack was neutralized by the defenders and midfielders in the first place.

If we look at Betis’s goal, we find it’s a collective mistake from Modric, Toni Kroos, Carvajal, and to a lesser degree James:

1. Carvajal advanced to cut the ball in the center because Modric and Kroos wren’t properly positioned.
2. The Betis left back (Durmisi) was left unmarked as James was so high up the pitch.
3. When the ball reached Durmisi, Nacho reacted (which is the proper decision). However, Kroos should have sprinted back to form a back four and block the cross.

From my view, these mistakes come from two main reasons:

1. Toni Kroos needs more understanding of the defensive positioning of a holding midfielder. I think Xabi Alonso is one of the best examples he can follow. Alonso has proved that a world class defensive midfielder doesn’t always need physicality and aggression. Maybe a long discussion with Zidane and watching some of Alonso’s best matches could come in handy.
2. Zidane needs to make it clear to the midfielders that they need structure once they lose the ball. This means that the center midfielders cannot press as high. They need to keep their positions in order not to expose the center. Also the wingers have to mind their positions. Pressing the opposing full backs shouldn’t necessarily be a must unless under special circumstances (such as the team losing and not much time left, the opposition willing to park the bus, etc). Not to mention that they can’t allow the opposition full backs to make runs behind their backs. Atletico Madrid’s  pressing and defensive scheme can be a great example in learning how to defend like a unit.

The other keys to creating a truly formidable fortress at the back are one little-yet-effective tricks, and a very complicated tactic : More defensive minded full backs and counter pressing.