Real Madrid: 3 things to learn from the loss to RB Leipzig

3. Forget Benzema, how can Real Madrid survive without Luka Modric?

Every time the commentators talked about Real Madrid not playing well, they stressed the fact that Karim Benzema was absent due to a muscular overload. But not once did they mention the fact that Luka Modric’s absence hurt Real Madrid a lot.

The Croatian might be 37 years old, but he is still ever so important for Real Madrid, and the team did find life without him to be difficult, particularly in away fixtures. He started in the away wins against Elche, Getafe, Atletico Madrid, Celtic, Espanyol, Celta Vigo, and Frankfurt (N), and in 6 out of those 7 games, the team led by the time of his substitution. Even in the games against Almeria, Shakhtar, and Mallorca, in which he started from the bench, the team acquired the lead or equalized only after Luka Modric entered the field.

His importance in Real Madrid’s midfield is something that doesn’t need an introduction, and he is still the person who pulls the strings in midfield, connecting defence to the midfield, and the midfield to the attack with his ball carrying and passing. And yesterday, the team clearly missed all these aspects of the game on the pitch. The players struggled a lot to bring the ball out of pressure, and a lot of simple passes were misplaced by the team.

If Modric is absent, Fede Valverde’s presence might bring ball progression and energy, but even the Uruguayan missed out on the trip to Germany, and the midfield, apart from Toni Kroos, looked clueless for most parts of the game. The former German international did drop deep and help Nacho, Rudiger and Courtois in progressing the ball from time to time, and even Tchouameni tried to do something with his accurate diagonal balls.

But Camavinga couldn’t play the Modric role properly, and for the fact, he was one of the most disappointing players on the pitch. The lack of composure and focus was clearly visible in his performance yesterday, and he couldn’t be the box-to-box player everyone wanted to see.

This brings us back to the question, who is Luka Modric‘s actual backup in this team? Who’s going to make up for his creativity in the middle of the park? Is it going to be Camavinga, who isn’t having the best time on the field? Is it going to be Ceballos, who’s more of a metronomic player? Or is going to be Fede Valverde, who’s unleashing the beast inside him while playing as a right-winger? We need answers to these questions soon.

We often keep talking about Modric’s contract expiry and renewals, but the actual thing that should be discussed within the club and the fanbase is “How is the club going to replace Modric?”