In a morale-destroying afternoon, Real Madrid got smoked by eternal rivals Barcelona, losing 5-1 at the Camp Nou.
This means Madrid have now lost four consecutive games in La Liga, and five of the last six across all competitions. In all those six games they have scored just four goals, three of which were bagged by Marcelo, the left-back.
This is an absurd run of games and it’s likely going to cost coach Julen Lopetegui his job. And whilst the Spaniard must take some of the blame for Madrid’s current predicament (his “loyalty” to the squad’s ageing stars ahead of their genuinely vibrant young core is utterly perplexing) there have been some players at the Santiago Bernabeu that have let him down.
This may seem like a good segue into criticism of Karim Benzema, but whilst the Frenchman has been unreliable in front of goal (and did miss a great chance in the Clásico) he actually scored one of Madrid’s four goals in their run of woe. To be honest, if Benzema let you down by being unreliable in front of goal then the fault lay with you for expecting him to be something he’s not.
But who are the Madridistas that have let their coach down? Read on and find out!
Thibaut Courtois
The gigantic Belgian came in to Real Madrid with a huge reputation and instantly, Los Blancos had a goalkeeping controversy. Courtois was obviously brought in to play, but you can’t just discard someone as decorated as Keylor Navas. So Lopetegui split their duties between La Liga (Courtois) and Champions League (Navas).
This put a huge onus on Courtois to justify all this malarkey and, quite frankly, he hasn’t. The Belgian has looked miles off his excellent World Cup form and seems to look very much like he did in his last season for Chelsea. Capable of brilliance but mostly just a pretty good, pretty tall stopper. This has left Madrid flimsy at the back and unable to establish a regular rhythm given the constant changing between goalkeepers. Courtois caused a problem for Lopetegui and has done nothing to help him solve it.
Raphael Varane
Raphael Varane was sublime at the World Cup, one of the best performers in a France team that basically won it off the back of their defence. According to France Football’s criteria, Varane has a stronger case than anyone to win the Ballon d’Or based on his 2017/18 exploits.
Yet if you watched Varane for Real Madrid in 2018/19 all you’d see is a very fast idiot. The colossal defender started the season getting bullied by Diego Costa in the UEFA Super Cup and he’s never recovered from that.
Whether he’s nursing a World Cup hangover or all that success is just getting to him, he’s been bad, and that’s a huge problem for Lopetegui because Varane is the rock around which the Madrid defence is built. He simply has to play well. Without Varane stabilising everything, Los Blancos have been all over the place at the back, conceding a ridiculous 14 goals in 10 games. His nadir came in El Clásico against Barcelona, where he conceded a penalty and played so badly in the first half that he got subbed out at half-time.
Sergio Ramos
Ramos was Julen Lopetegui’s great advocate in the Spanish national team. It was he who fought hardest for Lopetegui’s right to remain and coach Spain during the World Cup, and it was he who welcomed Lopetegui most warmly at the Bernabeu.
Then it was Ramos who made mistake after mistake after mistake to keep Real Madrid’s defence as pockmarked as the surface of the moon. The signs were there in the early games; Ramos running forward at all times, Ramos taking the set-pieces; people had wondered who would step up to “take over” Los Blancos in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo, and Ramos was figuratively screaming “ME! IT’S ME!!”
Predictably, a centre-back trying to become a pivotal all-pitch presence has not worked out well, and Ramos’ nonsense has kept Madrid as rickety as a game of Jenga on the deck of a cruise ship – his performance in the 5-1 Clásico defeat was pathetic. Ramos has been very vocal in his defence of Julen Lopetegui, but his words have not been backed up by his actions. Guess which Lopetegui would rather have?
Luka Modric
Voted as the best player in the World Cup and then The Best men’s player in the world, Luka Modric seemed to be invincible as the season began. After all he had, if the narrative was to be believed, dragged Croatia single-handedly to the final of the World Cup.
The reality, of course, was more nuanced. Modric was great, arguably Croatia’s best player, but many of the Croats were great the World Cup; notably Ivan Rakitic who often played a subtle, supporting role that allowed Modric to shine (and completely upstaged Modric as the two went head-to-head in El Clásico).
Since the World Cup ended and the season began, Modric has been, quite frankly, rubbish. There have been the odd moments of levity, but mostly his performances have become a dull sludge. A player who looks like he aged three years in the three months between May and August. Suddenly he’s slow, tired, unable to defend as well as he did and even his passing has become prosaic.
Modric was meant to be the heartbeat of Julen Lopetegui’s Real Madrid side. The main man in midfield for a “new style” Madrid that valued possession and proactive play. But that, quite simply, has not happened. From The Best to The Worst.
Gareth Bale
When Cristiano Ronaldo departed Real Madrid in the summer, and Los Blancos didn’t sign a replacement, it was clear that the club intended Gareth Bale to step up and become the talisman they wanted him to be when they signed him for a then world record fee in 2013.
And to be fair to Bale, the last time Cristiano was out the side for a considerable amount of time; the end of the 2015/16 season, it was Bale who stepped up and led the side to win the Champions League that year (the second he had propelled Madrid to).
But when asked to maintain that pace for an entire season, Bale has failed. For a player with such a history of performing in big games (he has three goals in three Champions League finals, and scored the late game-winner in his only Copa del Rey final), Bale has been remarkably tepid under Lopetegui. He doesn’t seem keen to assert himself on games and make plain that he is the one running the show now – even as he has the talent to do so.
More than anyone, Bale has let Lopetegui down. What Madrid failed to sign in the summer was a superstar forward, and their season has suffered as a result of being so blunt in the final third (they have scored just 14 goals in 10 Liga games) but in Gareth Bale they should have already had one at the club just waiting, desperate to assume the mantle of Madrid’s king. Yet when given the chance, Bale appears to have abdicated the throne.
The post The five Real Madrid players that have let Lopetegui down the most appeared first on Squawka News.
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