Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after inexcusable loss to Cadiz

Real Madrid were woeful on Saturday evening against Cadiz. Here are five key questions following the 1-0 loss.

Zinedine Zidane must have seen Cadiz as an easy tune-up game after the international break, based on the chosen starting lineup for Real Madrid. He started Marcelo and Nacho at fullback; Lucas Vazquez on the right side of the attack; and the highly-attacking trio of Luka Modric, Isco, and Toni Kroos in midfield.

The result was a 1-0 loss at home and the worst overall performance the team has put together since the start of the 2019-2020 season.

Let’s take a look at five burning questions for Real Madrid after the loss.

1. When will Real Madrid stop underestimating teams?

There are three issues that spring to mind here. Firstly, the starting XI Real Madrid played was too weak against any La Liga team. Secondly, league opponents will bring their A+ game when they play Real, such is their desire to cause an upset. And thirdly, a team like Real that plays with so much possession and risk-taking in their own half will be even more vulnerable to slow starts or quick-fire goals.

All three of those phenomena were observed by Madridistas on Saturday evening at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano. But the most preventable was the first issue both in its primacy on my list and in its causative effects on the result.

How can you win with a starting lineup featuring no defensive presence in midfield, the worst attacking player in the starting XI, two declining fullbacks, and two midfielders who are gassed after coming off an injury and/or the international break?

Zinedine Zidane, as wonderful of a manager as he is, made some fundamental mistakes. Both things can be true.