Late Attacking Tactics Backfire on Zidane and Real Madrid
By Ben Sundock
It was a heartbreaking defeat for Real Madrid Sunday night at home to the hands of their hated rivals, FC Barcelona. As Lionel Messi put home the game winning goal in the dying seconds of Barca’s shocking 3-2 win over a 10-man Real side, I thought to myself, how is Messi so open? Where are the three defenders remaining on the field? Why is no one back? Let’s take a deeper look at the defensive breakdown suffered by Los Blancos in the final two minutes of an agonizing defeat in El Clásico.
Manager Zinedine Zidane has been nearly perfect since taking over as Real Madrid’s senior team manager. And despite not being the most knowledgeable tactics manager in Europe, Zidane gets the job done, instilling in his players a never say die mentality.
And again against Barcelona, that never quit mentality was there for Los Blancos.
Most teams might start counting their losses, already trailing down 2-1 and going a man down. But, not Real.
Zidane made clear to every person in the world when he substituted James Rodriguez on for Karim Benzema trailing by a goal late in the match, that his team was going to throw caution to the wind at the back, only play with 3 defenders, and go on the full offensive.
And credit should be given to Zidane for this move to bring on James, who tied the game at 2, and was crucial in almost all of Madrid’s build up attacks in the final 10 minutes of the match.
Yet, Zidane’s critical flaw in the match, was his inability to back his team off from that attacking mindset after tying the match. “We thought we could score a third goal,” he said. “It is not that we lacked intelligence.”
"“Equalizing, with 10[men], and then going to press very high, is dangerous, and we paid for that. But I will not reproach the players. We always go for the game. We are disappointed as we did not deserve to lose, but football is like that.”"
Both Zidane and midfielder Toni Kroos both said the same thing. That’s just how football is sometimes. And they are right, it is. But you aren’t supposed to lose a game that way in the final seconds. Especially to your rival.
“We had chances to kill the game ourselves, many chances to score goals,” Zidane said.
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“That is where we are disappointed, with our [missed] opportunities. We have had many chances in many games, and not taken them. In the end you are punished against a team who knows how to play and can do you damage. And they did. But I have nothing to reproach my players.”
In rewatching the final play and it’s build up, it’s clear that the Real Madrid players were pushed too far up the field, looking for the game winning goal instead of just settling for the one point and the draw.
The good thing about this Zidane led Real team, is that they are a resilient bunch. And as much as the result may hurt, Los Blancos still control their destiny in La Liga.
If they can win out the remaining 6 games on their schedule, Real will be crowned La Liga champions for the first time since 2012, and the first time under Zidane’s leadership.
Zidane says his team will continue to play like they have been, with nothing changing going forward, “Nothing changes now. Maybe after today there will be more Liga. But we still depend on ourselves. Today was not about deciding La Liga, winning, losing, drawing, nothing was going to change.”
“Although of course it would have been better to get the three points. We will keep going and think already about Wednesday’s game (at Deportivo La Coruna). This will not change what we are doing. We will be positive until the end.”
If Real flub up just one game the remainder of the season, Barcelona will again get the better of the team from the Spanish capital.
Zidane and company will have to refocus quickly with a big match against Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
Next: Real Madrid 2 – 3 FC Barcelona: 3 Takeaways from Real Madrid’s Devastating Loss in El Clásico