Tottenham 3 – 1 Real Madrid – Quick take reaction to Madrid’s ugly defeat
By Alex McVey
Real Madrid were thrashed at Wembley, losing to Tottenham Hotspur 3-1. Real Madrid were really, really bad. Here’s your quick-take reaction.
Real Madrid’s performance summed up in one GIF:
— The Real Champs (@TheRealChampsFS) November 1, 2017
The first half performance was absolutely abysmal from Madrid. Madrid never looked like they were in control, as Tottenham continually passed through Madrid’s midfield. Ramos and Nacho did well in the first ten minutes to keep Real even, but it was never going to be enough the way Tottenham was playing.
They only knew they had to keep trying, and eventually a goal would come. There was a question about whether Alli was onside for his goal, but it really doesn’t matter. If they hadn’t gotten that goal they would have gotten a goal from somewhere else, based on how bad Madrid were defending.
The offense was also completely impotent for large parts of the first half. Madrid tried to cut Tottenham apart with through balls, but nearly every pass simply trickled to the feet of a Spurs player. Benzema and Ronaldo, the much heralded striker partnership expected to guide Real Madrid to glory this season, were disconnected and isolated. Real’s fluidity in the attacking end of the park was non-existent.
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The second half only got worse. Real Madrid pressed forward to try to find a goal, but the end result was never there. And it only created more and more space for Tottenham to attack. While Madrid began putting together a few more passes in the attacking third, the final quality never arrived. Meanwhile, Madrid’s defense remained porous as ever. Delle Alli bagged his brace, and Christian Eriksen added a third, all while Madrid was pressed forward.
Huge credit to Tottenham, who bossed Real at both ends of the pitch. Madrid was able to string together a few strong attacking plays in the second half, but Tottenham did really well to prevent Madrid from scoring for the majority of the match.
In the 80th minute, Real did manage to snag one goal back through Cristiano Ronaldo, following a cluttered mess in Tottenham’s box. That did ignite a bit of belief in the Madrid squad. Real Madrid kept pushing forward to try to get a goal, but Tottenham’s defense was persistent.
Ronaldo was bad. Benzema was bad. Isco was bad. Marcelo was bad. To be honest, nobody was good, but those four performances stood out to me as particularly poor. Madrid look completely disjointed in the attacking end of the pitch, a far cry from the team that dismantled team after team in the late stages of the Champions League last season.
Zidane brought on Theo, Mayoral, and Asensio, but it was ultimately to no avail. This team seems psychologically so much different than the team Zidane had at Madrid last season. Last season, Madrid always reacted positively to going down and struggled til the last minute. This season, Real Madrid look like they are content with just getting walked over.
Madrid got crushed at Wembley. With that, Tottenham are through into the next round of the Champions League, while Los Blancos will still have to fight it out.
Real Madrid are now in full-on crisis mode. Zidane needs to do something quick, or he may soon find out just how unforgiving the hot seat can be at Real Madrid.
Next: Zinedine Zidane welcomes the adversity