Well, at least they didn’t lose, right? Real Madrid faced Getafe on La Liga’s Matchday 33 at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez, and Madridistas had a feeling they were in for a rough one. Los Blancos were without many of their key players due to injuries, COVID-19, or, in the case of Casemiro, suspension. And it showed in the product on the pitch.
Real Madrid were woeful. To be honest, fans should be happy they did not lose to Getafe, because they ceded more chances than Djene and Co.
Here are five takeaways from the 0-0 draw.
This game was ugly
The title says it all, but I really want to do justice to how dreadful this game was. Real Madrid barely had any chances. Their best chance was literally a goal that was chalked offside, and most of us sitting at home still don’t know if it was actually offside or not. We didn’t get a good camera angle, and the two we saw would have led us to different conclusions.
Aside from that, neither team had a midfield. Real Madrid literally played Rodrygo Goes as a midfielder, which went about as well as you’d expect. A 19-year-old starting in a position he knows nothing about? Having to close down passing lanes and see the pitch? Yeah, it was never going to work out.
And then factor in Marcelo and Alvaro Odriozola as the starting fullbacks with Mariano Diaz up top? You have all the recipes of a disasterclass. It’s no wonder why Real Madrid never scored. That Getafe did not score either just seals this game’s status as one of the most dreary of the entire league campaign.
The fullbacks were awful
I am not going to sugarcoat this one, and I’m sure you knew this was coming. Hell, even before the game started, when most of you saw that Alvaro Odriozola and Marcelo would be starting at the fullback positions, you figured we were in for a rough ride defensively.
Marcelo and Odriozola have, together, been part of some of Real’s worst performances. Remember that loss to Alcoyano? How can anyone forget!
Interestingly enough, they started the match promisingly. Marcelo had a great cross for Mariano that very nearly led to a goal. Odriozola was actually making competent plays defensively, and while he was bumbling around on the right-hand side and failing to make himself available to Marco Asensio, he at least wasn’t embarrassing himself.
But as the game wore on, both men completely unraveled. Victor Chust had to make a few crucial tackles to spare Marcelo’s blushes. Marcelo was limp-jogging back on defense, and I could hear the screams of millions of Madridistas every time he lost track of a runner.
Odriozola tried, but he may have been even worse. It was almost comical watching him find new ways to lose the ball. Sometimes, I wonder where Odriozola learned how to defend. This was a step back for him after a decent second half at Anfield.
Massive Thibaut Courtois (again)
Real Madrid fans were quick to declare Thibaut Courtois the best goalkeeper in the world. I could try to put on my contrarian hat and argue in favor of Atletico Madrid’s Jan Oblak, but why would I do that? The truth is, it’s very hard to come up with a compelling argument against Courtois, especially when you look at the sheer quality of the saves he’s having to make.
With a disastrous fullback duo and no midfield in front of him, Courtois faced an onslaught of shots from Getafe. Although Getafe have struggled to score this season, they forced the Belgian goalkeeper into three world-class saves, including one where he stopped a scorching shot with his left hand. The ball was heading into the top corner!
Courtois spared Real’s blushes in a 0-0 draw against Liverpool in their most recent fixture, and he was even instrumental in the 2-1 win over Barcelona last weekend. Real Madrid could not get the win against Getafe, who were near the drop zone heading into this match, but they would have surely lost without Courtois’ saves. We need to all chip in and give him a gift basket or something (I know, I know, he’s richer than all of us…)
Real Madrid’s fullbacks stunk, but the center backs were awesome
As poorly as Alvaro Odriozola and Marcelo played in the second half, we have to give full marks to the center backs. The young pairing of Eder Militao and Victor Chust started together against Alcoyano and were two of the only players who didn’t embarrass themselves, and they were, once again, rare highlights in this horrid display at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez.
Chust started the game hot with a huge block, and he would make a couple of other crucial interventions. Job well-done from him. He was suddenly called into action as a starter in La Liga, and he delivered. There should be confidence in Chust.
But the real words of praise must be spared for Militao. After three amazing performances against Liverpool (twice) and La Blaugrana, Militao saved his best for Sunday night at Getafe.
He was immense. He was beyond immense. I don’t know the superlatives to describe him, but all I know is that he was everywhere and ice-cold . The 23-year-old had a whopping 10 clearances with 3 interceptions and 2 tackles.
Militao is making Madridistas feel more secure in the future of the center back position with each passing performance. It’s great to see him continue to progress, and, again, his future with the club must be secure at this point.
Attackers isolated
It’s hard to get too down on how Real Madrid’s attack played, because there was really no way they were going to find a breakthrough against Getafe’s tough defense with so many absences. Plus, Djene and Getafe’s defense were fantastic.
Real did put one past David Soria, though it was called offside. So that was a tough blow for Mariano Diaz and the front line early in the match.
As a whole, Real did very little to threaten Getafe. They struggled in midfield, which was due to the absences. Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior felt very isolated. Isco did his best to help create for the forwards, but he could only do so much in this one. Hopefully, he is not scapegoated.
Now let’s get to the wingers. Asensio offered nothing in this match, as was the case in the last game against Liverpool. These two poor performances come after a streak of four goals in four games, so I don’t want to get too negative on Asensio. I think he’ll bounce back soon, perhaps against Cadiz with revenge on Real’s mind.
Vini was better. It doesn’t show on the scoresheet, but he tried his best and fought hard against Djene. Getafe would often have to resort to grabbing him, with Nyom picking up his 10th yellow card of the season for doing exactly this.
We’ll see better from the attack, because there were so many factors preventing Real Madrid from having a solid game offensively. It was hard to watch, but we can’t overreact.