Real Madrid: 3 keys to victory against Espanyol on LaLiga’s Matchday 8

3. Real Madrid must improve their play in the final third

Real Madrid is creating plenty of chances but hasn’t been able to find the required finish. This wasn’t true for the games preceding the last two but it has been a constant evil since then. They were creative in the game against Villarreal and produced an emphatic 31 attempts in the game against Sheriff. Yet, they could only score once in the two games that too was a penalty converted by Karim Benzema.

Especially in the game against Sheriff, Real Madrid’s passes and touches in the final third were poor. They didn’t look like the same side who had scored 22 goals in the first seven games of the season. That is what needs to change. Espanyol struggles against well-worked linkups and good use of space inside the box. The games against Atletico Madrid and Sevilla should serve as great examples, the Catalan defense has struggled when the opposition is able to get a string of passes together and pull the trigger from scoring positions inside the box.

Something similar would be expected from Real Madrid on the weekend. They need to put this rough patch of form behind and start off the new month with all positivity. With Toni Kroos coming back into the side, fans already expect a much sharper Real Madrid in the attack. The front three of Karim Benzema, Eden Hazard, and Vinicius Junior have been putting in their fair share of linkups and they’d be hoping to get out of this ineffectiveness in the final third.