Despite having over a week off between La Liga matches, Real Madrid looked lethargic on Monday night as they could only manage a 1-1 draw against crosstown rivals Leganés.
A ton of possession with little purpose and little threat. That is the best way I can sum up Real Madrid’s performance on Monday night in the Butarque. Despite having the ball for 70 percent of the match, Zinedine Zidane’s squad could only muster 13 total shots and six on target.
Leganés, throughout the first half, showed patience sitting deep and waiting for a Madrid midfielder to push too far upfield and make an error. Forward Martin Braithwaite pressured nearly every touch made by center backs Raphael Varane and Nacho Fernandez, but the two veterans handled his annoyance well (for the most part).
The best chance of the first frame came from Marco Asensio who settled a great through ball from Isco perfectly and could not beat Leganés keeper Iván Cuéllar from point blank range.
The first goal of the match came from Jonathan Silva as he beautifully curled a shot past Keylor Navas moments before the halftime whistle. Silva was set up by Braithwaite who managed to outmuscle Dani Carvajal and lay the ball off with his back to goal.
As we have seen time and again this year, the Real Madrid back four struggled to get back to deal with the counter-attack off of a corner kick. In his first match back in just over two months, Carvajal looked a tad rusty in the opening frame but warmed up in the second half and finished with a decent rating.
Real Madrid tied the match just six minutes into the second half as Karim Benzema kept his hot streak in front of goal going after jumping on a rebound in front of Cuéllar. Luka Modric made a fantastic pass to Benz to set up his first shot and the savvy striker was right there to bang in the second shot.
I feel like a broken record saying this once again, but Real Madrid looks incredibly unmotivated at this point of the season. I understand there is nothing left to play for other than pride, yet these players often don’t show that desire to win.
Zidane needs to jump on his players and stop telling the media it is hard to motivate the players right now. It is his job to get them motivated regardless of the scenario or the opponent!
I told the other writers here at The Real Champs that it is becoming a chore to watch this team play week after week. If they don’t look like they want to be out there, why should we as fans be watching?