Real Madrid went up against last-place Rayo Vallecano on Sunday night and failed to score for second consecutive match and came away with nothing. Here are three takeaways from the lackluster showing in La Liga.
Manager Zinedine Zidane said it plainly during his post-match press conference as he admitted that the team, “did nothing from the first minute to the last” and rightfully apologized to the fans for the display.
Poor midfield play costs Real Madrid dearly
Zidane decided to rotate his team heavily that saw Marcos Llorente, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos start. Llorente started off energetically before the lack of movement in the team seemed to have gotten to him while Modric came out with arguably his worst performance of the season on a night where Los Blancos desperately needed him.
Toni Kroos was probably the best out of the three but that doesn’t mean he was anywhere near his usual self. It’s difficult to judge players when they have nothing to play for, but if you’re going to judge them as professionals, then there is no way this can be seen as anything less and an absolutely embarrassing performance.
Mariano Diaz
It’s safe to say that Mariano is not in Zidane’s plans next season. The striker was given a very rare opportunity to start with Karim Benzema injured and there was no point in the match where it looked like he even attempted to change the manager’s mind.
The man who added extra pressure to himself by choosing the iconic number seven jersey at the beginning of the season looked absolutely lost at all times and whenever he got the ball, he had no idea what he was supposed to do with it. To be fair, he was able to get a goal but it was correctly ruled for offside.
The Bright Spots
When you deservedly lose against a terrible team, there aren’t many positives to take out of the game but there were a couple tonight. Jesús Vallejo started for the second time since Zidane’s return and was rather impressive aside from giving away the penalty during the first half.
The Spaniard was switched on and covered for – no prizes in guessing who – Marcelo whenever it was required. The second positive of the night was Brahim Diaz who came on as a substitute and automatically added flair to a team that genuinely looked like they could not care less what the outcome of the match was.
The midfielder had some good moments and his frustration was evident as he aimed to start a fight with anyone that tackled him on the night.
This is not to say it was nice to see Brahim looking for trouble, but it was pleasing to witness someone who actually cared about what was going on.