DBasia.news – Real Madrid will play Sevilla in the LaLiga match on Monday (9/23). Zinedine Zidane must fix the bad defense of Madrid.
How open their defense can be seen when Madrid lost 3-0 to PSG (Paris Saint-Germain) in the Champions League. The results continued minor statistics for Los Blancos. According to the AS, throughout 2019 so far Madrid has only recorded six clean sheets.
In 35 matches Madrid has conceded in 29 matches. This was nothing new for Madrid until they recruited Ferland Mendy and Eder Militao this summer, both of whom played as defenders.
Whether through a set piece situation or an open game, Real Madrid defenders often fail to keep a clean sheet when they are not in their proper position, make mistakes, or fail to anticipate counterattacks.
That problem has become a classic problem for Real Madrid. Last season Madrid conceded 46 goals in LaLiga. So far (in 2019), they have conceded 49 goals in 35 matches (30 goals from last season and five this season).
Madrid opponents at least scored one goal. Thibaut Courtois, the Madrid goalkeeper, cannot always be blamed for the fact that the defense in front of him is not coordinating well. Finally, Madrid kept a clean sheet in April.
In addition to defense, motivation was also allegedly a reason for the decline in Madrid’s performance. Reporting from the official page on UEFA, Madrid only ran as much as 80,497 meters (the accumulation of the distance of the players who played down) against PSG. This is the smallest number made by Madrid since the 2009-10 season and through 117 matches in the Champions League.
Naturally, Zidane was worried about seeing his team’s motivation. “At this level when you lack intensity, it’s complicated. In every duel for the 50-50 ball we lost the fight,” he said.
Against Sevilla, which is currently ranked number one in LaLiga with 10 points (two points adrift of Madrid), Madrid’s defense will be re-tested by a team handled by former Madrid coach, Julen Lopetegui.