Real Madrid: 3 takeaways from the Spanish Supercup Semifinals

Real Madrid exit the Spanish Supercup in 2021 after losing their first matchup to Athletic Bilbao, 2-1. Here are three takeaways.

The slide continues for Real Madrid. After the 0-0 draw in snowy Pamplona over the weekend, Los Blancos were just as uninspiring in the semifinals of the Spanish Supercup. Weeks ago, Real defeated Athletic Club 3-1 after an early red card from noted pest Raul Garcia. But in this Thursday night match in Malaga, Garcia scored an early brace to give Bilbao a lead they would not relinquish.

Los Blancos fought hard in the second half, but it was too little, too late. Here are three takeaways from Real Madrid’s 2-1 defeat to Athletic Club in the Supercup.

An awful game from Lucas Vazquez

We have to start with Lucas Vazquez, because he had a real nightmare of a performance for Real Madrid. He made three dreadful mistakes in the first half, and two of those mistakes were roundly punished by Raul Garcia.

Vazquez had five key passes, per WhoScored.com, and he did everything he could to help the team in the attack. But to be honest, the key passes even flatter his offensive impact.

Even so, the main issue was Vazquez’s defending. He’s performed admirably in most games at right back this season, but, like the 2-0 loss to Shakhtar Donetsk, this was one of those matches where Zinedine Zidane was harshly reminded why Vazquez is no right back. Except this time, Alvaro Odriozola was available. So why didn’t the former Real Sociedad man start?

Vazquez wants more money in order to re-sign with Real Madrid, but he did not help his case in the Supercup. Surely, he’ll bounce back, though, because he’s been genuinely good this season.