Five reasons Real Madrid is struggling

Key players under-performing

Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Marco Asensio were all in brilliant form just before the last international break, but that form has quickly dissipated in September, a month where Madrid needed them firing on all cylinders.

Following the Sevilla defeat, I questioned the desire of this squad in La Liga for their inability to overcome tricky away grounds or get results against in form La Liga sides.

Alavés is by no means an established giant, but they aren’t third just because of luck. The Basque side has fully merited their position in the table, putting in impressive displays away to Rayo Vallencano and Espanyol.

They were always going to be a challenging team for Madrid, but if this side has any intention of winning the league title, then they are a side Los Blancos should be putting away. There was no sign of intent from Madrid on Saturday.

Real was slow and flat in possession, especially in the second half where veterans such as Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Modric, and Toni Kroos loitered around with the ball, awaiting an incisive pass to appear rather than being proactive.

Madrid’s sluggishness in possession can partly be blamed on the poor form of the forwards and the heavy legs of the midfield metronome, Luka Modric, but the players must also be criticized for their lack of urgency.

It speaks volumes of the mentality difference between Madrid and their title challengers, Barcelona, that Lopetegui told the media we were “only three points behind in October”, despite the Barcelona game still to be played.

No matter the ground or the opponent, we expect FC Barcelona to win, you cannot say the same for the current Real Madrid dressing room.