Deportivo La Coruña 2 – 6 Real Madrid: 3 Takeaways from the La Liga Match

A heavily rotated Real Madrid squad bounced back from their El Clásico loss with a convincing 6-2 win on the road against Deportivo de la Coruña. Alex McVey reviews the match with three key takeaways.

A Youthful B-Squad Produced an Exciting, but Imperfect Match

Looking to bounce back from a heartbreaking last-minute loss in El Clásico just three days ago, Real Madrid were in dire need to pick up all three points against 16^th place Deportivo de la Coruña. With the La Liga race as close as it is, Real Madrid need to pick up all the points they can.

So, it’s safe to say some heads were scratching in Madrid as Zinedine Zidane rolled out a heavily rotated lineup, fielding nine different players from those who played in El Clascio.

Not only was this squad composed largely of the fringe players in Madrid’s squad, it was also composed primarily of young players. The average age of Madrid’s starting XI in El Clásico this weekend: 28. Against Deportivo: 25.

If this youthful B-squad gave us a look at what is in store for Real Madrid’s future, then the future looks bright. For the most part, that is.

On the one hand, Madrid’s offensive attack was downright exquisite. Alvaro Morata spearheaded Madrid’s youthful attacking lineup, flanked by Lucas Vázquez and Marco Asensio, with James and Isco commanding the midfield behind him.

It took less than a minute for Real Madrid to land first-blood. They flew out of the gates, “Like greyhounds with rockets attached to sensitive areas,” according to Ray Hudson, as Isco found Morata for the game’s first goal.

They didn’t look back from there, as Madrid kept Deportivo pinned back into their own half for the vast majority of the match. The combinations in attack were excellent, especially between Isco, Asensio, and Rodriguez. Deportivo were dragged all over the pitch with sharp one-two passes and outrageous dribbling by Isco and Kovačič.

Madrid’s goals were scored by five different players (James twice, Morata, Vazqeuz, Isco, Casemiro). Three of Real’s players (Isco, Morata, Vázquez) picked up both a goal and an assist. These squad players were intense, full of energy, and entirely unselfish, constantly on the lookout to help the other players score.

However, despite utter dominance in the offensive third, Madrid was, yet again, totally incapable of keeping a clean sheet. Madrid’s defense was pulled way out of position on the first goal. Raphael Varane was caught ball-watching, attempting to double-up on the line rather than mark the open Andone posted up in front of Madrid’s goal.

For the second, Casemiro sloppily gave the ball away, as Real Madrid’s defensive structure promptly imploded on itself, leaving former Madrid player Joselu open in the box for an admittedly excellent header into the back of Kiko Casilla’s net.

Isco Continues to be an Utter Beast

Isco has been making a lot of noise in recent weeks. He dragged Real across the finish line with three points by putting in a dominant performance against Sporting de Gijón. And recent rumors have it that he will soon put pen to paper on a new contract at Madrid.

Calls for Isco to become a more central part of Zidane’s lineup will only be growing louder after today’s performance. Isco was all over the place tonight. Just a brief glance across social media gives you a pretty good idea of how Isco did.

I’m not sure what else I can say that Twitter hasn’t already said. Isco is good. He’s really good.

Moreover, Isco seems to be shaking his reputation for being a player who is great at dribbling, but can’t seem to find the final pass or come up with a decisive end-product. He’s not just passing and dribbling well, he’s putting up numbers to go along with it:

It’s becoming more and more absurd that the Bandy-Legged Beauty can’t seem to find his way into the Starting XI. As good as Marco Asensio’s been, it would be a shame of Isco didn’t manage to replace Bale in the upcoming Champions League matches against Atletico Madrid.

Isco has played a huge role in Madrid’s season, but has mostly performed against La Liga’s bottom dwellers. With Bale out for at least three weeks, look for Isco to increase his importance to Real Madrid in the tail end of the season.

Kiko Casilla Looks Shaky and Unorganized

Although Casilla made five saves, one of which was a really good one, for the most part he looked a liability this match.  He made a few crucial errors that may have put Madrid’s early lead at risk had Deportivo been more decisive.

Despite being two inches taller than Navas, Casilla’s aerial abilities are seriously lacking. His biggest problem is that he is never quite sure if he wants to punch or catch balls that are coming into his box.

The defense looked unorganized all match, which Casilla has to take at least some responsibility for. Both in terms of physicality and communication, Casilla failed to live up to his duties in commanding the penalty area.

After a terrible start to 2016, it looked like Navas was at risk of losing his starting spot to Casilla. However, Navas has looked much sharper in 2017, culminating in an excellent performance in El Clásico. With performances like these, Zidane should have no doubt in his mind that Casilla should remain second-string in the goalkeeping picking order for the rest of the season.