Real Madrid vs. Barcelona: 5 burning questions after an unacceptable loss

Real Madrid suffered one of the most humiliating defeats in the history of El Clasico this past Sunday night at the Santiago Bernabeu.

That might seem like a hyperbolic statement, but think about what we saw unfold before our eyes in this match.

Real Madrid were the league leaders coming into the match at home, and they had just defeated Real Sociedad 4-1, PSG 3-1, and Mallorca 3-0. Their manager Carlo Ancelotti fielded a lineup with no tactical plan, and without Thibaut Courtois’ big saves and a few even bigger misses from Barcelona, Real could have lost to a team that was not even in the title picture by a scoreline double that of 4-0.

Totally unacceptable.

Here are five burning questions for Real Madrid in the aftermath of this dreadful defeat.

How can Real Madrid not sign a right back?

By now, many of you have seen past transfer rumors that Real Madrid will not sign a right back this summer. Surely, that stance has to change from above, especially after watching how easily Dani Carvajal was torched by Ferran Torres at the Bernabeu.

It is one thing to get roasted by Kylian Mbappe, who is the best player in the world and whom pretty much nobody can hold up against. But it is another thing to get roundly embarrassed positionally by Torres, who is very good but not yet world-class, and then also make a series of critical giveaways.

Carvajal has been incredibly mistake-prone, inconsistent, and, of course, injury-prone this season. His attacking influence has also waned significantly, to the point where it seems like the consensus among Madrididstas is that Lucas Vazquez is a better option in the starting XI than Carvajal.

My goodness how far the once-great have fallen.

Vazquez is a good squad player, but we cannot pretend like he is any sort of a solution at right back. And neither is Alvaro Odriozola, whose minor attacking hype at Fiorentina belies the fact that his defensive weaknesses remain and would be exposed even moreso at a club with a higher standard like Real Madrid (no disrespect to the Viola, but, I mean, c’mon, levels and all).

Real Madrid need a right back. They NEED a right back, all caps.