Real Madrid: 5 burning questions from the humiliation at Alcoyano

Did Isco help or hurt Real Madrid?

Real Madrid gave Isco a start in this Copa del Rey match, which is a rare occurrence for the former Malaga man. Isco used to be a great La Liga attacking midfielder with the versatility to play in multiple spots, and he flashed his talent last season, especially in the second half of the campaign after more transfer rumors.

But it honestly seems like Isco must go. He tried hard against Alcoyano, but I came away annoyed with his performance, more than anything.

Isco had some nice dribbles, finishing the game, per Sofascore.com, with nine successful dribbles and seven fouls drawn. But Isco also didn’t contribute to any goals and completed 81 percent of his passes with 132 total touches. He had no tackles and one interception, offering nothing remarkable defensively either in recovering or in pressing for Real Madrid.

Basically, Isco had a typical “frustrating Isco” day, and that hurt the team. He had a lot of the ball, he dribbled it around, and he did precisely nothing with the ball. Real Madrid dominated possession with Isco pulling the strings, but what strings was he pulling, exactly, if nothing came of this possession?

Isco is a talented player. But for Real Madrid, he’s not nearly useful enough and isn’t a fit for what they need. Real need someone who is more incisive and does not need to dictate play on the ball as much. They need someone who can quickly diagnose and get the ball into dangerous areas, rather than a horizontal ball-carrier who cannot help defensively.