Real Madrid: 5 burning questions after the first leg vs. Chelsea

Real Madrid managed to escape their first leg match against Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals with a draw. Despite a poor start to the game and a clearly fatigued midfield, Los Blancos managed to hang in there and hold onto a point, calming down defensively in the second half of a tough match.

Here are five burning questions for Los Merengues following a 1-1 first leg result at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano.

Why did Marco Asensio play at wing back?

Let’s start with a small question. More like a quizzical quirk. Late in the second half, Real Madrid took off Dani Carvajal for Alvaro Odriozola and Marcelo for Marco Asensio. By sacrificing two wing backs for a wing back and a winger, it seemed like Zinedine Zidane would shift from a 3-5-2 to a 4-3-3 with Nacho Fernandez shifting to cover Marcelo’s missing place at left back.

Instead, Real Madrid fans sat there in confusion with Asensio lying deep on the left-hand side in a wing back role with Eden Hazard sometimes ahead of him but also sometimes drifting to the middle in a “free role” up top with Karim Benzema.

It was a puzzling decision, but maybe Zidane did not want to change the structure and take any additional risks against Chelsea, noting that Real were more fatigued and were clearly outplayed in the first 45 minutes.

But hopefully, we don’t have to see Asensio, who isn’t exactly known for his defensive contributions, playing as a wing back again.