Real Madrid were shockingly defeated by Getafe away from home in their first league match of 2022. The goal, coming off an error by Eder Militao was enough to give three points to a Getafe side which Madrid were expected to beat. Madrid never looked the same after conceding the goal, and were nervy before a late final push to find the equalizer. The gaffer Carlo Ancelotti rightly pointed out that the players were still in " christmas mode" as Madrid looked far from their usual best. Here's me looking into the positives and negatives of our game vs Getafe;
The Starting Eleven
With leaks coming in from almost every possible source that Eden Hazard will start the game, it was widely expected that the Belgian will start upfront along with Benzema and Asensio. Marco Asensio, a player who starts on the right wing but likes to drop down in the midfield could have made the formation a bit for dynamic, changing from the usual 4-3-3 to a 4-4-2 at times with Hazard and Benzema upfront. But instead we got Rodrygo on the left wing coming in place of Vinicius Jr. . Lucas Vazquez started at right back and, as usual this season under Carlo, he was poor. Madrid based most of their attacks from the left with Ferland Mendy offering the width and Rodrygo cutting inside at times. The usual midfield trio of Kroos, Casemiro and Modric started with Modric as the roaming playmaker, Kroos playing more centrally in advanced positions, and Casemiro dropping in at the back at times Alaba or Militao progressed with the ball.
The Defense
Lets be honest, Madrid's defense has been shaky this season in almost every match. Granted that we are playing a new center back pairing after a long time, but small mistakes in almost every match is not acceptable by Madrid's standard. If it was not for the individual brilliance of Thibaut Courtois or David Alaba or Eder Militao in those matches, Madrid would not have been enjoying this lead at the top. Even in this match, a defensive mistake was again responsible for the goal. In this instance, Eder Militao with the ball at his feet had 3 options, to clear the ball, to pass it to Vazquez or chip it Alaba. But he chose a risky back pass and was robbed off the ball and was duly punished by Enes Unal of Getafe. Apart from the mistake, Militao had an average game losing the ball about 13 times in total. Alaba on the other hand made good forward runs from his left center back position, but couldn't find that final pass into the box.
The full backs were poor today. Vazquez appears to be a shadow of the player he was under Zidane last year, while Mendy was subbed out at half time to introduce the ever reliable Marcelo. The team completed just 3 out of 18 attempted crosses, a disastrous stat if you ask me. Of this 3, Vazquez had 1 cross while Mendy had 0. Most of Madrid's attacks were down the left flank, with Ancelotti probably having addressed the lack of a quality right back in the team. Both the full backs had pass completion rates in the higher 90s, but how many of them were progressive passes and how many were sideways and back passes? Its the effective passing that should matter and not the number of passes attempted. A new right back is the need of the hour at Madrid, but I doubt if any new player will arrive before the summer.
The Midfield
Toni Kroos, Casemiro and Luka Modric started in the usual midfield trio for Madrid. Kroos played more centrally being in advanced positions as well making key passes from the back, although he had a poor game by his lofty standards. The German sniper had 96% successful passes, 90 touches and won all his ground duels on the left side of the midfield 3, often linking with Mendy and Rodrygo. He had a few stray passes here and there, but like most Madrid players, progressive passing were low. Casemiro played in his usual defensive midfield position, dropping at center back at times. Offensively he was average with 77% passes completed and losing the ball 24 times, but defensively he was quite handy with 6 blocks and 2 clearances. He won 7 out of his 8 ground duels along with winning 12 of his 15 aerial duels.
Luka Modric is, for me the greatest midfielder of our generation. Even at 36 years of age, the level of football he's been playing has been astounding as well as outstanding to say the least. Luka dropped another masterclass in the middle of the pitch where he was deployed as a roaming playmaker. He had 99 touches in the match, yes 99 ! He has practically been everywhere, in the midfield, on the right flank teeing up with Vazquez, dropping in the defense at times as well. Add to that, 87% pass completion and 7 out of his 8 attempted long balls were successful. His excellent long ranger in the first half was one of the very few shots that troubled the Getafe goalkeeper tonight. Modric will be key if Real Madrid are to win silverware this season.
Madrid made 724 passes with a success rate of 87% compared to Getafe's 260 passes. The midfield, though great at times, struggled to make that final pass into the box.
The Forwards
Rodrygo, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio formed the front three in absence of Vinicius Jr. Rodrygo got a rare start and had the opportunity to show his quality to the Los Blancos faithful, but I for one am totally not impressed by his performance. His performance was like that of last season's Vini, and although he has pace, his lack of physicality is problem. He couldn't create enough chances for either himself or the team. I am all in for giving chances to the youngsters, but not at the cost of loosing 3 valuable points. Rodrygo, according to me should be a regular in the Castilla side and gain more match time.
Asensio had a weird game, he was neither too good or disastrous. His tendency to drop deep helps the team build up counter attacks, but he couldn't come good tonight and should try to be a bit consistent. The biggest disappointment of the night, for me, was Karim Benzema. Karim looked far from his usual best and would like to forget this match as a one off-day. He had 0 shots on target, 74% passing accuracy and lost the ball 18 times. Him barking at young Peter Gonzalez towards the end of the match for not getting to his wayward pass summed up his frustrating day.
The Subs
Hazard, Mariano, Peter Gonzalez, Isco and Marcelo all came on in the second half. Among them Hazard and Marcelo impressed me the most. The link up play between Benzema and Hazard was great to see. Marcelo played in well advanced positions on the left and made great runs on the overlap as well as inside the penalty box. His link up play with Hazard was good as well. All this makes me wonder, why didn't he start? Of course Hazard has lost a bit of speed and agility, but his qualities with the ball at his feet remain. He can be the perfect partner upfront for Benzema. Hazard played just 45 minutes but had 96% successful passing rate. Other substitutes like Mariano and Isco couldn't do too much, while young Peter, though hugely talented needs game time to realize his true potential.
One has to question Ancelotti, why isn't Fede Valverde starting? Why isn't Hazard starting against a club 16th in La Liga? Isn't there any player other than Vinicius who can successfully take on defenses, or is long range shooting the only option? What happens when Benzema has an off day? What is Asensio's role in the team? And last but not the least, when will the team press a unit and play more progressive passes and cut out the silly mistakes they commit at the back every single match? Looks like there's a lack of plan B and that can be very harmful while playing PSG in the Champions League. You don't want to be out of your depth, not in the Champions league at least.
The Opposition
Getafe played with a 5-3-2 formation with the intention of playing on the counter. The defensive error by Militao was a result of the pressure applied by forward Enes Unal, who then coolly slotted it past Courtois. Sandro Ramirez played like a number 10 withdrawn striker in support of Unal. Getafe defended with 8 and 9 players at times, and didn't leave any openings for Madrid other than a few long drives. Their goalkeeper David Soria had a good game making some important saves, but he was largely untested from close range. Getafe followed the Cadiz style of approach and absolutely parked the bus, frustrating the Madrid players. Madrid tried playing long balls over the defense to utilize Rodrygo's pace, but couldn't capitalize. It was a hard fought win for the hosts, who defeated the capital club in front of a packed home crowd for the first time since 2012.
Last year Real Madrid lost just 2 league matches, the least across the top 5 leagues across Europe. Although one defeat doesn't make this team bad, it does raise questions about the depth of this team and the ability to win against teams defending deep. Moreover, the reluctance of Ancelotti to use certain players even when they are fit and available should be a cause for concern. If Madrid are to win anything this season, they have to do it as a team. Each player a specific role to play in the squad, if they can't do it then someone else must get that role. Playing attacking football along with the cultivation and promotion of the Castilla is all I ask for, is it too much Carlo?
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POSTER- SAYAK MAITY
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