Real Madrid fans were under the impression that they are better off without Kylian Mbappe on the pitch, especially after eliminating Manchester City and most recently beating Espanyol 2-0 without the highly paid Frenchman in the side. And while that may still be the case and is still something many fans believe, it was called into question a bit by just how badly Barcelona dominated them 2-0 in the Clasico that confirmed the title to the Blaugrana, officially.
Now, Real Madrid would have probably lost by just as much, if not more, with Mbappe in the side, but Real Madrid were unacceptably poor in their shutout defeat to their most bitter rivals. That really drives home the most important point about the 2025/26 Real Madrid team, and that is the fact that pretty much everyone stinks and there are a lot of major weaknesses in the side that go far beyond Mbappe.
With Dean Huijsen a very last second scratch, Real Madrid were forced to start Raul Asencio at center back, and he was, once again, terrible, only proving why Alvaro Arbeloa wants nothing to do with him. But he wasn't the only center back who stunk, and when you consider his experience and the fact that Real Madrid are inexplicably about to reward him with a new deal, Antonio Rudiger was the bigger story.
Antonio Rudiger is more meme than defender
Once again, Rudiger was outclassed by a superior opponent. His ludicrous foul on the edge of the box led to Marcus Rashford's brilliant free kick goal for the opener, and both he and Asencio looked like the real traffic cones - seriously, anyone who calls Alvaro Arbeloa that needs to get on the unemployment line with Gerard Pique - on the second goal.
Rudiger has been an embarrassment this season. A fake leader who makes more headlines for slapping players around and getting into fights with the young players like Dani Carvajal does, Rudiger is one of the worst center backs in La Liga. The only people who think he is good are mainstream pundits from England who remember him at Chelsea, people who think memes are real life, or those same pundits who are referencing two games against Erling Haaland.
In reality, Rudiger is an ill disciplined center back who cannot play the offsides trap, runs around like a malfunctioning wind up toy, tries to foul anything with a pulse, and can only pass the ball sideways. Rudiger is the kind of Sofascore farming center back Madridistas would bash if he played for Barcelona (or maybe praise because he would be so bad it would benefit Madrid), and yet he has gotten to skate by for years. Hopefully, his disasterclass against Barcelona is the last straw and makes Real realize he can't be kept around for another year.
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