The wait is finally over. The 2021-2022 LaLiga season begins this weekend. In the very first game, Real Madrid travel to the Mendizorroza to face Deportivo Alaves. Alaves is a kind of opponent against whom Los Blancos would be favored to win. The Royal White club, however, isn’t in the best of physical shapes and in fact, could miss as many as six players on La Liga’s opening day.
Carlo Ancelotti will thus have to start several second-choice players and this match would be his safest bet. He needs his starters in full form before the matches against Levante and Real Betis. However, even with a starting line-up missing few crucial names Real Madrid would be expected to make a winning start to their campaigns. Here are three keys to abide by to assure that victory.
1. Gareth Bale needs to capitalize on his Real Madrid return
Real Madrid’s attack has been an aspect of their play under continuous scrutiny ever since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus. Last season, it transformed into a single-man show with Karim Benzema being the only goal-threat. This season though, with the return of Gareth Bale from his loan spell with Tottenham, fans expect the situations to change.
The role of Gareth Bale becomes yet more important since Karim Benzema is one of those players that MARCA reports who could miss the opening game. He had contracted the COVID virus and though he has returned to training there are questions upon his match-fitness. That makes Bale the senior-most attacker and playing under a familiar head coach, a lot will be expected out of the Welshman.
He looked particularly sharp in the friendly against AC Milan. He was finding pockets of space and he controlled a pass from Luka Jovic brilliantly well with his first touch that led to a scoring chance and then a penalty. He missed the penalty but the positive here is that he was creating chances for himself and others. In the league, situations will be much more urgent and with the ton of experience that he has, he would be expected to be the difference on the pitch in Benzema’s absence.
2. Make up for Toni Kroos’s absence
Yes, this probably would be a constant key for Real Madrid to follow until Toni Kroos, the general of Real’s midfield recovers from his groin injury. The expected time-out is of six weeks but nothing can be said with total assurance about such prolonged issues. Toni Kroos’s absence means an extended chance to Fede Valverde and possibly even Martin Odegaard in the second half.
I am not picking a single individual to put up that extra shift because the season is yet to start and judging from the friendlies where the appearances of the players in question were very limited wouldn’t be the best thing to do. Luka Modric, however, would be expected to absorb a little more pressure and help the young guns get along.
Odegaard’s future at the club is again in question and getting more minutes on the pitch and for that matter quality minutes, can have an impact on his decision. He possesses the talents to play for a big club we saw glimpses against Rangers in the preseason. The move that ended with the Rodrygo-Golazo was indeed started by the Norwegian.
As far as Valverde is concerned there can never be any doubt about his commitment to the club. He is always seen pumping that extra bit of energy when required and in my opinion, he would have a key role in covering for Kroos in the opening matches. The bottom line is that Real Madrid needs to secure play in the middle of the park for most of the time, the better midfield snatches the game away.
3. Get the new central-defensive setup working
We have seen a Kroos-less midfield or for that matter, we have also seen a Benzema-less attack and plenty of what Gareth Bale can do on a good day. But, something that is going to be very new for Madridistas is to see a defense without Sergio Ramos or Raphael Varane. It is anxious as well as exciting at the same time.
The defense improved from the friendly against Rangers where the Whites conceded two to the one against AC Milan where they maintained a clean sheet. The central defense, in my opinion, would feature the duo of Nacho and David Alaba. Though the defense improved, there still were areas to work on for Don Carlo and Co.
There were gaps that Milan could exploit and the defense, to say the least, looked distorted. The inclusion of Alaba couldn’t keep us from not missing Ramos. Los Blancos need to address these concerns and get the defense right before the league starts. La Liga is a lot about sitting deep and defending diligently. Even, the bottom of the table sides are able to maintain a compact and organized defense.
We know the system would and has changed a lot from Zinedine Zidane’s system where he prioritized defensive stability. But, that doesn’t mean that defense can be discounted upon especially against counter-attacking sides. Most lower-ranked Spanish teams can be dangerous on the break and from what we saw in the preseason, there is a lot to work upon.