Real Madrid draw an incredibly frustrating match against Levante and give up two crucial points for the second La Liga matchweek in a row. Here’s your quick take / hot take reaction to the disappointing draw.
Real Madrid draw their first two league matches at home. That simply does not happen very often.
Last time Real Madrid failed to win either of their first 2 Liga home games of the season, Asensio not born yet. And Zidane was at Bordeaux
— Gabriele Marcotti (@Marcotti) September 9, 2017
Real Madrid were really abysmal today. Zidane started a heavily rotated lineup that involved both Theo and Marcelo. Bale and Isco were both left on the bench, causing Madrid to look stagnant up front. Marcos Llorente and Toni Kroos started in a double pivot which was stable enough but did not provide enough fluid movement from out of the back.
Dani Carvajal seriously screwed up for Levante’s goal. The full-back got caught ball-watching in the box, and allowed Ivi to take a wide-open shot. For what it’s worth, Kiko Casilla probably could have done better organizing his area, and the bounce was really hard to predict, but Carvajal simply has to put pressure on the attacker and make his life more difficult.
Benzema went off with injury early in the match, causing Zidane to bring on Gareth Bale. The Welshman provided a bit of impetus for some attacking play, and seemed to be one of the best players at pressing Levante’s back line. But Bale also cast a frustrating figure this evening.
For a player who once was earning headlines for his aerial supremacy, Bale missed three really huge headed opportunities. Granted, Levante’s keeper Raul made a really impressive one-on-one save after Bale broke through. But these excuses will not satisfy the section of Madrid fans who want to see Bale shipped off in lieu of Marco Asensio.
Bale was not “InvisiBale” tonight. He was all over the pitch, and creating dangerous movement. But his profligacy in front of goal simply cannot be excused. Bale has to do better.
The referees were pretty bad this match, but Madrid fans cannot blame them alone for the shenanigans that took place on the pitch. Marcelo got a really stupid red card in the 89th minute for flailing wildly at a Levante player. It was pretty innocuous, but you still can’t go kicking at people and not have at least a 50% chance the ref will send you off.
Serious questions need to be asked after this match. Real Madrid are struggling to score goals without Cristiano Ronaldo, and Zidane decided to bench Bale and Isco. The quirky rotations that miraculously worked out last season are just not falling for Zidane this year, and he needs to wake up to that fact quickly.
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The Theo and Marcelo experiment failed pretty miserably today. Why did Zidane think we needed to play with two attacking full-backs on the left? I understand that both of those players can overlap to play forward and cover for the other at the back, but why try to make that work when we’ve got Bale and Isco on the bench? Or Kovacic? There is absolutely no reason that Zidane needed to run out this much of an experimental lineup in a La Liga match when we are already chasing behind Barcelona after the Valencia draw.
Madrid looked completely lackluster today. Their approach was tired and boring. The strategy to bombard Levante with crosses and balls over the top only works if our crosses are coming in with pinpoint accuracy, and today, they simply were not.
Things are bad for Real Madrid right now. If Barcelona win this weekend, Madrid will be 4 points adrift off the top of the table, and we’re just now three weeks in. Zidane needs to right this ship, and he needs to do it quickly.
Next: 3 things to watch for as Real Madrid host Levante