There is no doubt in anyone's mind that Dean Huijsen's red card completely turned the script during Real Madrid's defeat to Atletico Madrid. The player was performing really well until that moment when he gave away a last-man foul inside the box, which ended all hopes for a Real Madrid win.
However, there is a statistic that should set of any and all alarm bells at Real Madrid, if they haven't done so already.
Before his time at Real Madrid, Huijsen received zero red cards in 122 combined games playing for Roma, Juventus and Bournemouth. However, in just 52 games, Huijsen has received three already.
That is simply shocking. You can credit Huijsen for having a good start to the season. You can talk about how important he has been for the team as of late. You can also say that he has taken leaps in terms of improving from last season, but three red cards in just 52 games is abhorrent work.
Dean Huijsen needs to correct his habit of committing last-man fouls
That is an average of a red card every 17 games or so, which is simply too much at a club like Real Madrid.
Obviously, the reason for this is different. All of these red cards have come the same way. The red card against Borussia Dortmund to give away the penalty as the last man in the Club World Cup. Then it was a red card against Real Sociedad shortly after that in the league campaign, again as a last man outside the box - although that one technically should not have stood as he was not the last man. Still, the essence was the same, and the decision was the same.
The red card against Atletico Madrid was of the same cloth - last-man foul inside the box. None of these have been cynical challenges, but they have been bad enough to be a straight red, and it is a really worrying sign that it is that easy for the player to lose his proactiveness.
Huijsen could have handled the situation better before getting a red card against Atletico Madrid. You can probably say it was completely unnecessary against Borussia Dortmund - a match that Real Madrid were already close to winning.
Regardless of the situation, three red cards in the same manner is just not the way it should be for players at Real Madrid, and if this trend continues, Huijsen's future at the club will be limited, despite his brilliant start to the season.
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