The Real Champs
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Three overreactions from Real Madrid’s narrow win over Real Valladolid

By Ben Sundock

Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (L) scores a goal against Valladolid's Spanish goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF against Real Valladolid FC at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid on September 30, 2020. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP) (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (L) scores a goal against Valladolid's Spanish goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez during the Spanish league football match Real Madrid CF against Real Valladolid FC at the Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Valdebebas, on the outskirts of Madrid on September 30, 2020. (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU / AFP) (Photo by PIERRE-PHILIPPE MARCOU/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Zinedine Zidane, Head Coach of Real Madrid. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images)
Zinedine Zidane, Head Coach of Real Madrid. (Photo by Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images) /

A conundrum in the midfield?

Martin Odegaard remained on the bench tonight and instead, Real Madrid looked to Isco to play as a free-roaming attacking midfielder. Man, it did not go well.

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The Spaniard’s second appearance of the campaign looked very similar to his first as he failed to affect the flow of the match or create chances. Isco is relied upon to find pockets of space and help his teammates create goalscoring opportunities.

Well, Isco had no key passes, no shots, made just one dribble attempt, and totaled 46 touches in nearly an hour on the field. It is quite rare to see a chance creator like Isco silenced in a match like this.

Simply, he hasn’t looked like himself in his first two appearances and Odegaard appears to still be adapting to life with Los Blancos. Do we have a conundrum in the middle of the park with Toni Kroos out injured?

Yes, perhaps there is a bit of an issue with the CAM/ number 10 role with Real Madrid. However, Valverde, Luka Modric, and Casemiro look spritely and have been hugely influential in these first few “warm-up” league games. As a whole, I would say Real Madrid is still in good hands in the midfield. And they certainly have the depth on hand to change up personnel.

Would moving Marco Asensio centrally possibly help? Does Zidane regret selling James Rodriguez to Everton after seeing what the Colombian has already been able to do?

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