Analysis: What Madrid Should Do After the Loss from Atletico

DBasia.news – “The Madrid of Lopetegui, humiliated already,” said the headline of Sport, Spanish media in Catalonia after the 2-4 defeat from their rival, Atletico Madrid in the UEFA. Madrid ended the trend of winning the cup in two consecutive times.

Madrid were ahead 2-1 through Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos’ penalty kick responding to Diego Costa goal. They failed to secure the winning after Costa scored his second goal plus two more goals from Saul Niguez and Koke. The big defeat of Madrid wasn’t a good start for the new season.

The failure happened after Madrid left by two iconic figures, Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, who played a big role in the success of Madrid achieving the Champions League titles in 3 consecutive seasons. Indeed, the UEFA wasn’t the barometer to assume Madrid would be failed this season.

 

Real Madrid

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However, that minor result should be the warning for Madrid, especially Julen Lopetegui the new coach of Madrid to fix the weaknesses seen in the match.

One example of the weakness was the poor defense coordination. This is ironic, considering the four defenders playing for Atletico Madrid are the experienced defenders playing in Madrid: Dani Carvajal, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos, and Marcelo.

“Negative points? Losing was the worst thing, and we conceded four goals and we need to improve on that,” Lopetegui said in the press conference after the match. Madrid’s problem in the defense sector can be seen during the match against Atletico. So what will Lopetegui do?

Thibaut Courtois and Nacho Fernandez

 

Thibaut Courtois

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This is the short-term solution for Madrid who will play against Getafe in the first week of LaLiga on Monday (20/8). Considering the decreasing condition of the key players, Thibaut Courtois and Nacho Fernandez could be the temporary solution, and perhaps Courtois as the long-term solution.

Keylor Navas at least could counter 2 possibilities and scored the goals. He performed differently, not solid and efficient. This was predicted due to Courtois arrival that distracts his focus or pressured to perform well if only he didn’t lose his position as the main goalkeeper of Madrid.

In that condition, Lopetegui has to send Courtois and Nacho to replace Varane. The France defender didn’t join the pre-season tour due to the additional holiday after winning the 22018 World Cup. Consequently, he isn’t fit enough to compete with the other teammates.

Nacho could be the ideal tandem for Ramos while waiting for Varane and Jesus Vallejo’s recovery. The other solution is by applying the 4-3-3 strategy to tighten the central field of Real Madrid with the presence of 3 midfielders. The team would be secure in the backfield due to the additional protection from the midfielders.

Academy or Transfer Market Solution

 

Nacho Fernandez

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It’s not enough for Madrid to be good considering the pressure to win all the trophies for each season. Madrid need an element of surprise because the current squad remains the same as the previous season. Their togetherness is indeed strengthening the playing collectivity of Madrid, but on the other hand, the opponent could read the strategy easily.

What Atletico did when sending Rodri and Thomas Lemar could be a good example for Madrid. Lemar gave a surprise for Madrid who faced him for the first time since transferred from AS Monaco to Atletico this season.

There are two solutions for Madrid: promote the team from Real Madrid Castilla or buy a new player from the transfer market. Madrid did both, but no one is outstanding or giving a significant contribution.

Madrid recruited Alvaro Odriozola, Courtois, Vinicius Junior, and Andriy Lunin. From four of them, it’s only Courtois who has a big profile in Europe. While Vinicius just showed his Brasilian talent in dribbling balls. He is still adapting to Europe football culture.

Los Blancos can’t just stay like this with the current squad, considering the poor depth. Compared to the Zidane era with players like Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez, there are only names like Borja Mayoral, Dani Ceballos, Marcos Llorente on the bench.

With all due respect, the players are talented. But they are not enough for Madrid to win the LaLiga, Copa del Rey, and defending the Champions League for the fourth consecutive times.

The season has just started. Madrid still have plenty of time to fix the defense coordination performed poorly against Atletico.

“We will work on everything, not just the small mistakes, but in every facet of the team. We don’t like making mistakes, but we need to improve on everything,” Lopetegui concluded.