Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from a 1-1 draw with Elche
Dani Carvajal, Marcelo disappointed
Dani Carvajal has been a crucial player to Real Madrid in 2020-2021, and his return from injury helped lead to some of the club’s best football this year during the winning streak. He, Luka Modric, and Lucas Vazquez were unstoppable at times on the right-hand side, most prominently in their 2-0 win in El Derbi.
But Carvajal was poor against Elche. He had some bright moments, but he also made some incredibly sloppy touches and clumsy fouls. It would be unfair to blame Carvajal entirely for Real dropping points, but he did have that foolish foul inside the penalty box that led to Fidel’s equalizer from the spot.
He was not as bad as Marcelo, though. The legendary left back has been anything but legendary in 2020-2021, and Madridistas are growing tired of watching Marcelo make embarrassing positional errors that cost the team.
La Liga sides have pinpointed Marcelo as Real’s weak link on the rare occasion he starts, and this match was no exception. I cannot comprehend why Marcelo started when Ferland Mendy was fresh after a rare week of rest, so this one is on Zidane.
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Marcelo played well in the first half, even hitting the bar. But he was a disaster in the second half. Lucas Boye could have easily scored on one of a few plays in which he had acres of space in front of him due to Marcelo getting caught out. Zidane pinching his fullbacks so far inward did not do Marcelo any favors either. This was a game to forget for both players, but while Carvajal can be forgiven for one off day, this is becoming a recurring theme for Marcelo.