Real Madrid suffered a humiliating defeat to tumble out of the Champions League Round of 16.
Los Blancos were optimistic they could turn the tide in the second leg without captain Sergio Ramos, but they were disappointed in the end. Real Madrid lost 2-1, but they may have well lost by far more than that.
Raphael Varane’s two mistakes were the biggest story of the evening, and they were heartbreaking moments from a player who had otherwise been arguably the best center back in the world in 2020. Nobody expected him, Thibaut Courtois, Luka Modric, or Casemiro to play as poorly as they did at Manchester City.
Real can bounce back from this and be stronger than ever in 2020-2021, but, for now, Madridistas must head into the summer transfer window with at least a tinge of disappointment. Watching the rest of the Champions League season won’t be easy, that’s for sure.
Here are five burning questions from the match, with a focus on how things move forward for both Zinedine Zidane and the champions of La Liga.
How healthy is Eden Hazard?
In the immediate aftermath of the loss, that is the question reverberating in my head. Eden Hazard did not look confident in this match, making a minimal impact for Real Madrid. He should have been second to only Kevin de Bruyne as the best player on the pitch, but he was a footnote in comparison to his influential Belgian teammate.
Hazard, if he wasn’t at 100 percent, should not have started. And based on his recent play, fans have to be worried about just how much his ankle could bother him for the rest of his Madrid career. We must stand by Hazard and support him, but the main thing he needs is good health.
Can Real Madrid win big games without Sergio Ramos?
Sergio Ramos missed the Manchester City second leg due to a suspension, as he was red-carded in the first leg. Real have only won once in their last eight Champions League games without Ramos, with that lone win coming against one of the competition’s weakest sides in FC Schalke 04.
Basically, Real are cooked in big matches without their Captain, whose leadership, defensive work, technical quality, and even goal-scoring ability make him indispensable. After all, the No. 4 stepped up so much en route to Real’s 34th La Liga. title.
Raphael Varane and the rest of the defense crumbled without Ramos, constantly making errors. Only two of the most egregious errors were punished, but Varane, Thibaut Courtois, Casemiro, and others could not play out of the back or even get in good positions without Ramos directing things.
Ramos is still going strong at the age of 34, but he won’t be around forever. And there may be other key games he has to miss due to suspension or even injury. Real Madrid need someone to step up at the back as a leader in his place, and that player may just need to be Varane. If not him, then who?
When will Zinedine Zidane make better subs?
Zinedine Zidane needs to come under the microscope even more than Raphael Varane or any player in this match. Because at the end of the day, Zidane chose to engage in a risky strategy of only playing it out the back, start a less-than-fully-healthy Eden Hazard, and make unwise substitutions.
As great as Zidane is at man-management, talent evaluation, and, yes, tactics, he is woefully inept at making substitutions. It seems like he either forgets he can use substitutions until the 70th minute or has self-imposed a substitution mandate.
Real Madrid have one of the deepest squads in European football. They can call on Vinicius Junior, Luka Jovic, Marco Asensio, and Isco from the bench, and those four players could pretty much walk into any other team as a starter.
Against Manchester City, only Asensio entered the game before the 80th minute. Neither Isco nor Vinicius even played, even though they were literally the best players in the first leg, with Isco scoring the lone goal in that match.
Zidane has to improve on this in 2020-2021. If not, he will continue to leave points on the table for Real Madrid, because this club has so many subs capable of changing a game. You know, if they get more than 10 minutes!
Will Eder Militao get more opportunities?
For the second time this summer, Eder Militao was the best defensive player on the pitch in a big game. He bailed out Real Madrid twice in their 1-0 win at San Mames, stopping Athletic Bilbao winger Inaki Williams in his tracks twice when his defensive teammates were left in the dust.
And on Friday night at the Etihad Stadium, Militao was the Real Madrid center back who stood up in a big spot – not Raphael Varane. Militao made sure Real didn’t lose by more, as they faced an onslaught from Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, helped on by the poor passing from Courtois, Varane, and Co.
The 22-year-old center back looked more like a veteran than Varane. Even though Real’s defense was horrible in this game, Militao stopped the scoreline from actually reflecting how poor Los Blancos truly were.
His stats jump off the page. According to WhoScored.com, the Brazilian defender had four tackles, two interceptions, four clearances, and an absolutely staggering five blocked shots. He saved Los Blancos from any further embarrassment, bailing out his teammates again.
The rest of Europe may not know him, but Militao is a wonderful young center back. He can be the one who replaces Sergio Ramos, at least defensively.
How can Real maximize their forwards?
Karim Benzema is Real Madrid’s best striker. That is set in stone. Eden Hazard, when he’s fully healthy, is a first-choice player, especially with all that Real have invested in him financially. But then Marco Asensio, Vinicius Junior, and Rodrygo Goes are all worthy starters. Vinicius ideally on the left, Asensio ideally on the right, and Rodrygo ideally on the left. But Rodrygo is also competent on the right, even if his confidence and scoring threat are higher when cutting inside.
The problem is that Zinedine Zidane can only start three. That’s not even factoring in Isco, who can play on either side, too.
Real Madrid have so much depth and talent at the wide forward positions, and even at striker when you consider what Luka Jovic can bring to the table. Using substitutes more liberally would help Zidane get the most out of his young talent at forward, but he may also need to consider making a tactical change.
That change could be doing what Zidane has done with Isco to Hazard. Meaning, Zidane could start Hazard on the right in a floating role to accommodate Vinicius or Rodrygo on a left in games where he wants to start one of the young left wingers over Asensio.
Hazard is at his best when he’s creating, and he doesn’t need to cut inside on his right foot to score. He can score with his weak foot, pull shots with his right, or simply drive at defenders through the middle. Hazard on the right is more like Isco on the right, whereas Vini on the right is not an option and Rodrygo on the right doesn’t maximize the young man’s goal-scoring threat.
It is an idea for Zidane to consider, perhaps even more strongly after this latest humbling loss to Manchester City.