Real Madrid was the leader in La Liga. But it was before the Clasico, of all places, that the royal weaknesses were revealed. The season is at stake.
Images that say more than a thousand words. Real Madrid’s stars left the field with their heads hanging down after a momentous defeat to UD Levante.
Saturday night’s 1-0 defeat on Saturday night means a week ahead of the Clásico (La Liga: Real Madrid – FC Barcelona, Sun from 9pm in LIVETICKER) of all things: the top of the standings is gone.
While Barca’s superstar Lionel Messi led the Catalans back to first place with four goals, Real are currently asking themselves: Who is responsible for goals?
The Royal Family had expected much more from the star newcomer Eden Hazard. The Belgian has only scored one goal so far – and will now be absent from Real for a long time due to a hairline fracture in his right calf bone. Gareth Bale is mostly just a shadow of days gone by and the otherwise reliable Karim Benzema only scored once in 2020. Luka Jovic can’t really follow up on his strong Eintracht season and it’s already getting tight when you’re looking for snapshots in Real jerseys.
Real weakens again when it becomes important
First the cup defeat against Real Sociedad, then the draw against Celta Vigo and now the bankruptcy against Levante – Real revealed blatant weaknesses in the weeks of truth. “We feel bad because we missed a myriad of good scoring chances in the first half,” said coach Zinedine Zidane. “It sucks that we missed five points in two games. That’s the reality.”
But it’s not just the offense that’s lacking. Real conceded four goals at the end of the Cup, followed a 4-1 draw for a long time and were unable to get a leg on the pitch.
The weak performances at national level make a look at the task in international business almost gloomy.
In the Champions League, Wednesday will see an absolute smash hit against Manchester City. For Pep Guardiola’s team, the championship fight is already lost to the towering Liverpool anyway (Champions League: Real Madrid – Manchester City, Wednesday, from 9 pm on LIVETICKER). And since the Sheikh Club will probably have to forgo participation in the premier league altogether in the coming years, City will do everything they can this season to clinch the title. On Sunday Barca will be waiting.
“Next week is all about everything for us,” explains Zidane. “We have to do everything we can to win against Barcelona now. We have another game before that. We know how important these two games are and we have to get back on the winning track.
Real’s season started in early March?
It won’t be easy for Zidane. Since 2016/2017 the Royal Family have been waiting for a championship title in Spain. We need to break through Barca’s domination.
An out in the Champions League, a defeat in the Clásico – and the season could be over for Real as early as the beginning of March. Not only for Real’s president Florentino Pérez would this be a failure across the board.