Real Madrid finally returned to winning ways with a 3-0 win against Deportivo Alaves at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu. The team had struggled in attack in the four fixtures before this game, with just 1 goal in 4 games. And a terrible performance against Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday didn’t make any fan happy.
It seemed as if this game was going on a similar path, with Real Madrid putting in a below-par performance in the first half of the game. Thanks to a moment of attacking brilliance from Marco Asensio, followed by goals from his attacking partners Vinicius Jr and Karim Benzema, Los Blancos were able to wrap up the three points in a game where they were expected to do so with relative ease.
The scoreline might be a bit misleading because Real Madrid was disappointing for most of the game until Asensio’s goal, which changed the dynamic completely. There are a lot of talking points in this game, and let us have a look at some of the takeaways from this game. Most of them are going to be critical in nature because the overall performance wasn’t satisfying.
Let us start off with the decisive player of the game, Marco Asensio.
1. Marco Asensio doesn’t perform unless his complacency is questioned
After watching Marco Asensio play for Real Madrid all these years, we have got used to his inconsistency. He would become a starter after a good performance, and would then have two to three below-average performances due to which he would be dropped from the starting XI. He would then put in an encouraging performance as a sub, and the cycle goes on and on.
His performances and goals have followed the same pattern this season, and he has managed to perform well when his complacency was punished by the manager Carlo Ancelotti, who would then decide to start Rodrygo or someone else ahead of Asensio.
Two bad performances against Villarreal and PSG followed the game against Granada, in which he scored a screamer. Well, he wasn’t benched because his competitors haven’t been any brilliant either. But this time, it wasn’t Ancelotti who was fed up with Asensio’s complacency. It was the fans inside the Bernabeu, who were annoyed with the mediocrity shown on the pitch. They couldn’t be patient after watching Asensio gift a huge goalscoring opportunity to Alaves in the 61st minute with a lazily misplaced backpass and some fans vented out their frustrations at the No. 11 with whistles.
Asensio didn’t like the fans’ reaction a bit and didn’t take a lot of time to respond to them, as he gave the best answer possible with a screamer of a goal just two minutes after the incident. He would then go on to angrily celebrate his goal with some gestures towards the fans, asking if they would whistle him now.
Well, this shows only one thing. Asensio can’t push himself to go the extra mile unless someone or something else forces him to do so. The fact that he answered the whistles is a good thing, but he also needs to realise that someone can’t keep whistling him throughout the game to bring the best out of him. The motivation and the determination need to come from inside, and not just some external factors. That is what we call an ‘Elite mentality’, something that any player needs to have, to succeed at Real Madrid.
And on a side note, Asensio’s performances are making his situation much more complicated. His performances have been very poor for a Real Madrid starter who’s 26-years-old. He lacks the intent and verticality, but he still manages to save the day with a decisive moment of brilliance. This doesn’t make him completely reliable, nor completely reliable, and doesn’t give an answer to the question, “Should Real Madrid renew Asensio’s contract?”.
2. Fede Valverde shows us why he needs to get more minutes
If Madridistas ever wanted to see a player start yesterday’s game after looking at the team’s performance against PSG, it would be Fede Valverde. The Uruguayan has been one of the underutilized but hardworking players in the team, and he was one of the few players who actually tried to do something on that fateful night at Paris, though he didn’t play for long.
Everyone wanted to see Fede start yesterday’s game against Alaves after a disappointing performance from Kroos and Modric midweek. And Ancelotti gave the 23-year-old a start against the relegation-threatened Alaves.
Fede started off from the right, with Modric shifting to the left-hand side, occupying positions that are usually occupied by Toni Kroos, who was rested for the game. The intent was there from Fede, as he looked to make progressive passes and attempt progressive dribbles every time he had the ball. But there were sequences in the first half where he was let down by his decision-making and his raw attacking game.
He stepped up his game in the second half, initiating a lot more counter-attacks, and combing better with his teammates, being involved in the buildup to the first two goals. He had also registered two key passes and six accurate long passes, as per Sofascore. Even Ancelotti was impressed by the Uruguayan’s shift and gave him an opportunity to play the whole 90 minutes.
It wasn’t really a flawless performance from Valverde, but he had shown us why he needs more minutes with an impressive display. He transmits his energy to his teammates as well, and there is a greater belief that the team can win the ball back rather quickly if Fede’s present on the pitch. If there’s any aspect of his game that Fede needs to improve, it’s his game in the final third. He just lacks the killer instinct in the final third, and an improvement there would make him a world-class box-to-box midfielder. And for that to happen, he needs to play more.
3. Benzema and Vinicius Jr. might be on the verge of running out of gas, and some signs are already there
Karim Benzema was running a race against time before the PSG tie, as he had to recover completely and return for what could probably be Real Madrid’s biggest match of the season. Well, he did return in time, but his performances against both PSG and Alaves have been disappointing, to say the least.
Not just Benzema, but even his partner Vinicius Jr has been out of form of late and is struggling in the final third ever since he returned quickly from the international break, to be available for the Copa Del Rey quarter-final against Athletic Bilbao. They did score a goal each yesterday, but that doesn’t mask the fact that they were poor yesterday, and looked out of sorts as well as out of ideas at times.
Vinicius missed a big chance with Pacheco saving his left-footed shot in the second half, while the on-field captain Benzema had missed three golden goalscoring opportunities, with the post preventing one from going in. Not just in finishing, but the Benzicius combo appeared to be slower in some 1v1 situations as well.
Well, this only means one thing – Benzema and Vinicius need to be used properly by Carlo Ancelotti from now, and excessive workload might make them run out of gas and lead to injuries. The Italian manager has a lot of options available, and he needs to trust them more and take the risk of resting his key players from time to time, to keep them fresh for the big games.
4. Real Madrid’s crossing is becoming worse with each game
A lot of people on social media undermine Real Madrid’s three-peat of Champions League and Zidane’s brilliance by saying that the Frenchman just relied on crossing. First of all, it’s an ignorant claim, and secondly, it makes a lot of sense for a manager to use crossing as a tactic in a team that has world-class fullbacks, and athletic forwards. Crossing was a huge weapon for Real Madrid, though the team had used the tactic excessively at times.
But now, the team’s not attempting many crosses anymore, and even the crossing quality isn’t the same. Yesterday’s win against Alaves is a prime example to support the claim, as Real Madrid had attempted 21 crosses in the game, but only 4 of them were accurate, with a success rate of around 19% as per Sofasore.
The overall numbers might discourage the fans even more, as Real Madrid registered only 3.4 per 90 mins at a success rate of just 19.54%, and are stand 19th (yes, you read it right) in the table for most accurate crosses per 90 in LaLiga, as per WhoScored. This is a dip when compared to the 4.5 accurate crosses in LaLiga per 90 in the 2020/21 season, with a success rate of 22.7%. Even the no. of aerial duels won per 90 mins has decreased from 11.8 in 20/21 to 10.6 in 21/22.
Ferland Mendy’s crossing has been terrible all through the season, and even Dani Carvajal hasn’t been the same player that he once was, in the attack. Yesterday’s game wasn’t any different, as the Frenchman delivered two inaccurate crosses against Alaves, which looked awful in real-time, while Carvajal would overpower his crosses, or pass them straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.
The regression in crossing numbers can also be attributed to the fact that the only realistic aerial target for Real Madrid in attack is Karim Benzema, as Casemiro hasn’t been given the license to attack the penalty area to get onto the end of the crosses like he was given under Zidane. Even Carlo Ancelotti thinks the same, as he says that Militao is the best aerial target after Benzema, due to his height.
5. Ancelotti doesn’t seem to be trusting his bench when the team’s just a goal up
Don Carlo’s substitutions are always a talking point during Real Madrid’s games. Every Real Madrid player is asked to warm up by Ancelotti during the second half, which makes it difficult for people to predict who’s going to be subbed on. And the fact that Ancelotti makes his substitutions late in the game adds to the suspense.
And Ancelotti’s substitutions were a topic of discussion during yesterday’s game as well, with commentators talking a lot about that. But it wasn’t about whom Ancelotti was going to sub on or who is going to come off because he didn’t even make a substitution until the 82nd minute.
The Italian was going to sub on Rodrygo after the 60th minute, with the scoreline still reading 0-0. But Asensio scored a wonder goal then, which made the gaffer change his mind and ask Rodrygo to go back to the bench. Maybe it was Asensio who was going to be subbed off and the goal changed his mind. In the press, he had admitted that he wanted to see them play longer together as he liked the way in which they were playing.
It would be fine if that was the case, but the fact that there was no movement on the bench for 19 more minutes and Carlo Ancelotti called for substitutions immediately after Vinicius scored the insurance goal shows only thing. Ancelotti was afraid of conceding a goal after he makes the changes when the team was leading with a solitary goal.
Usually, a manager doesn’t hesitate to sub on players in situations where a goal is needed and doesn’t refrain from experimenting with the team when they’re leading comfortably. But the actual preferences of a manager can be understood during the former situation, and also when the team is leading by one goal. It would be interesting to see whom the manager trusts to help the team preserve the lead and see off the game.
But when the score was 1-0 for 19 minutes, Ancelotti didn’t make a single change, even with the likes of Hazard, Bale, Camavinga, and Kroos on the bench. It was quite surprising, and it might also suggest that Ancelotti didn’t want to take a risk by trusting the players on the bench and making substitutions. In such a scenario, Ancelotti isn’t sending a positive message to the dressing room with these decisions.
If there’s any topic that doesn’t deserve any talk and importance, it is Ancelotti’s choice of substitutions in yesterday’s game. There wasn’t a lot of time left after the second goal, and Ancelotti had used all the five substitutions by giving minutes to fringe players like Ceballos and Marcelo. So it isn’t necessarily a controversial point that needs to be talked about.