DBasia.news – Real Madrid had to surrender 0-1 when they visited CSKA Moscow home. Madrid’s poor record continued. Madrid never won, even scored the goal in their three recent matches.
Conceded when the match just started two minutes, Madrid still had plenty of time to equalize the situation or win.
After the match, Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui regrets the wasted opportunities.
Here are three triggers of Madrid’s defeat:
- No Finisher
It’s no longer a secret that all this time, Madrid really relied on Cristiano Ronaldo to score the goal. The Portuguese striker was the goal machine for Madrid.
It’s also not a secret that Madrid striker Karim Benzema’s quality is decreasing when it comes to goal. It happened since two years ago.
Now after Ronaldo left, Madrid have no reliable goal machine. Benzema is accurate, while Gareth Bale is injured.
- CSKA’s Strong Defense
The weak attacking line of Madrid combined with the strong CSKA defense made Lopetegui went home with no goal.
However, we have to give the credit to CSKA head coach, Viktor Goncharenko who made a great strategy in this match. Goncharenko put four players to defend his team. This is the first time he used this system.
Kirill Nababkin, Nikita Chernov, Rodrigo Becao and Mario Fernandes performed solidly throughout the game. CSKA’s defense was stronger thanks to Jaka Bijol and Ilzat Akhmetov as the defending midfielder.
Throughout the match, Madrid scored 26 shots, but only three met the target.
- Lopetegui Rotation
Seeing the squad in the match against CSKA, it looks like Lopetegui was doing an experiment. So far, Lopetegui is known as the coach who often keeps the similar squad in two different matches.
Against CSKA, many thought that Lopetegui will place Alvaro Odriozola in the left defender to replace the injured Marcelo. He is the option for Marcelo.
But, all of sudden Lopetegui changed his mind and gave the position to Sergio Reguilon, a young player who has his debut in the Champions League.
Moreover, Lopetegui also chose to bench Luka Modric. In fact, Madrid can’t send the injured Bale. Consequently, Toni Kroos worked by himself in the midfield.
Besides, Lopetegui also didn’t send Mariano Diaz. Modric and Mariano came to the pitch in the second half, but it was too late.
For attacking, the coach placed Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez in the wing area. It’s a waste because Asensio didn’t have the speed required for a winger.