Real Madrid: Zinedine Zidane’s 4-3-3 fails once again
By Ben Sundock
Despite dominating possession and with Eden Hazard making his fateful return, Real Madrid stumbled to a 2-2 draw against struggling Celta Vigo. Manager Zinedine Zidane elected to roll out a 4-3-3 formation that was unsuccessful once again.
Trying to return to his formation of days gone by where Cristiano Ronaldo was bounding down the left-wing and Gareth Bale was in form on the right, Zidane made more than a few tactical mistakes in the disappointing draw against Celta on Sunday.
The problems began with the decision to start both Bale and Marcelo who have been woefully disappointing for most of the season. Bale has failed to score a goal in La Liga at home in nearly 600 days and Marcelo seems to be losing that special thing that made him one of the best fullbacks in club history.
Using four midfielders for the last couple of months while Hazard was rehabbing, Real Madrid found success by not only dominating possession but overrunning their opponents in the attacking third.
Instead of continuing to use four in the midfield and without both Isco and Luka Modric who have been in great form as of late, it was Toni Kroos, Casemiro, and Fede Valverde who started.
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The three were solid in this match – Kroos especially was fantastic scoring the first goal and passing expertly – however, it was the missing connection between the midfielders, Bale, and Karim Benzema that proved to be the problem for Los Blancos.
The majority of the attacks went down the left-wing and were led by Hazard who doesn’t seem to have lost any of his form despite a three-month layoff.
This is now the second consecutive match Zizou has played a 4-3-3 and the team has lost. The last time it happened was also at home against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey nearly two weeks ago.
So, while the 4-3-3 might inherently be a better attacking formation, Real Madrid plays much better with four midfielders on the pitch. The 4-1-2-1-2 has provided evidence of the success the team can and should have week after week.
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Zidane might elect to rotate the squad for the weekend match against Levante with the Champions League round of 16 right around the corner, but the 4-3-3 should not be used for the remainder of the campaign.