Real Madrid could not get the job done at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on Saturday afternoon, as they fell 2-1 to Levante, mirroring last season’s results of one win and one loss to the Frogs.
Although Levante are a good team with the likes of Roger Marti and Jose Luis Morales in the side – both men scored on Matchday 21 – Real Madrid’s loss is a sign that this club is playing well below the standards expected of a Royal White side.
Let’s ask five key questions following Real’s latest subpar result.
Can Mariano Diaz even carve out a backup role?
Real Madrid have two strikers in the squad after loaning Borja Mayoral to Roma in the summer and Luka Jovic to Eintracht Frankfurt in the winter: Karim Benzema and Mariano Diaz.
The former of the two players is Real’s leading scorer and assist provider for another year running, and he was instrumental in the 4-1 win over Deportivo Alaves last weekend. At the same time, he was shockingly absent against Levante, and Zinedine Zidane made a rare decision to sub him off in the 81st minute for Mariano.
What did Mariano do in his 15 minutes on the pitch? Absolutely nothing, mirroring his performance against Alcoyano a couple of weeks ago.
Aside from an early goal against Villarreal, Mariano has been a non-threat to defenses in the 2020-2021 season. Real Madrid have tried to get him to go to another team, but he is determined to make things work in Madrid. The problem is that he doesn’t appear to be at the standard necessary, and every precious minute wasted brings Marian one step closer to finally leaving the club.
Did Eden Hazard take a step back against Levante?
Madridistas were hopeful that Eden Hazard would put together a strong performance on Matchday 21 after posting his best individual effort in his most recent from injury last weekend against Deportivo Alaves. Hazard was not dominant on the ball in that match, but he had a great backheel flick for an assist and an even better touch to set up his third goal of the 2020-2021 campaign.
Unfortunately, Hazard could not string together consecutive above-average performances, as he was too quiet against Levante. He wasn’t terrible by any means, but you’d expect a player of Hazard’s caliber to do more than draw a couple of fouls and pass the ball sideways. Left back Ferland Mendy and striker Karim Benzema did not exactly do Hazard any favors as poor supporting casts for the No. 7, but Hazard has to bear some responsibility.
The reality is that while Hazard’s had a couple of very good performances this season, we’ve still not yet seen the Hazard we need to see frequently enough. Levante’s defense isn’t one of the best in the league, so the matchup was there for Hazard to have an encore performance from his display at Alaves. Hazard did not deliver, and now he is facing a get-right matchup against Huesca next weekend – the same team he tore up in his very first start of the 2020-2021 season.
Are the young fullbacks offering Real Madrid enough in the attack?
Ferland Mendy is one of the best defensive fullbacks you’ll find on this planet, and he did not put a foot wrong on that end of the pitch against Levante. But on the other side of the coin, it honestly felt like he didn’t put a foot right offensively either.
So far this season, Mendy has zero goal contributions, and fans have grown frustrated with both the sideways nature of his passing and his inability to deliver accurate crosses.
For me, there were two more issues in this Levante matchup. It’s easy to take Marcelo for granted, but watching Mendy, he misses so many switches of play on the other side of the field. It’s like he’s not even aware he can switch the ball to the right side after Real have made a natural overload. The second issue was that he often stood in Hazard’s way instead of making himself an actual outlet who could then make his own progressive pass.
Alvaro Odriozola was even worse, honestly, because at least Mendy was trying and wasn’t a liability defensively. Odriozola was awful again on defense, and instead of making up for it on the offensive end, he had so many poor giveaways and inaccurate crosses. At this point, it’s hard to see Odriozola having much of a future at Real Madrid, even though he has the traits to play well for a smaller club.
Will the midfield finally get some help?
There are so many aspects of Real Madrid’s squad that deserve harsh criticism, but the midfield is the only area that hasn’t been a consistent problem. Defensively, Real made major mistakes against Levante, including Eder Militao’s early red card and the multiple errors from the fullbacks. Offensively, Real’s forwards, with the exception of goal-scorer Marco Asensio, were either anonymous to start the match or flat-out atrocious off the bench.
But the midfield was extraordinary. Casemiro, per WhoScored.com, recorded a jaw-dropping seven tackles. Without him, Raphael Varane, and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois as the stars of this Sergio Ramos-less defense, Real Madrid might have allowed four goals in this one.
Luka Modric was as good as ever. I mean, when does this guy ever have a bad game? And Toni Kroos was the Man of the Match for the losers. He didn’t deserve to be on the losing side with the passes he was making, including his gorgeous assist for Asensio that beat the entire defense from his own half of the pitch.
Real Madrid’s midfield trio is the world’s best, but the fact that Los Blancos are still struggling should tell you all you need to know about how inconsistent the defense and front three have been in 2020-2021.
How can Zinedine Zidane trust anyone but the old guard?
Real Madrid need to give more opportunities to younger players in order for the club to make forward progress and for their young talent to develop into future starters. The problem is that Florentino Perez hasn’t given Zinedine Zidane a clear sign that he can actually go through with a youth project without getting fired at the first sign of trouble. Because, well, whenever Real have stumbled for a few matches, Zidane’s felt the heat.
The “old guard” is comprised of the likes of Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Dani Carvajal, Karim Benzema, Casemiro, Toni Kroos, Nacho Fernandez, Lucas Vazquez, and Luka Modric. These are the stars. They have been there, done that as far as trophies go. When Zidane is in trouble, like in that final Champions League fixture vs. Borussia Monchengladbach, these are his go-to guys. And more often than not, they deliver for the French manager.
Alvaro Odriozola, Vinicius Junior, Mariano Diaz, and Eder Militao are the outsiders. They aren’t bad footballers, and a couple of them have a chance to develop into good players who could start for a club like Real Madrid. But right now, they are unreliable. Odriozola is a mistake-machine on defense. Militao is excellent 90 percent of the time but makes errors the other center backs do not. Mariano works hard but is not quite talented enough. Vinicius is talented enough but makes youthful errors, and the response to those errors has seemingly hurt his confidence.
Zidane surely wants these players to earn their stripes and get better, but how can he afford to play them when we see results like this one against Levante or the bigger disgrace at Alcoyano a few weeks ago? You have to empathize with the manager, whose players aren’t quite ready to meet the expectations at such a prestigious and pressurized club.