What we learned from the Madrid Derby

I'm not going to lie, the 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid this Sunday was a really hard watch for Real Madrid fans. We looked sloppy on the ball, made crucial mistakes in defense, and we just did not look like a team that was playing to win. In this article, I’ll be going over specific game highlights, specific player performances, and what needs to change.

This was just not a fun watch, I’m sure for either side. Both sides were so sloppy in possession and it felt more like a wrestling match than a football match.

There is a lot I can say negatively about so many players in this game, but I’ll start with the positives. Starting with Man of the Match Giuliano Simeone, he is someone that I really do not want to be saying anything good about. He was constantly provoking our players and just being an overall nuisance. But, I will give him credit where it’s due. He drew the penalty from Dean Huijsen, and was a decent attacking threat for Atleti throughout the game. Next, Jonathan David, scoring the winner for Atletico following a cross from Simeone himself. Finally, Courtois and Yan Diomande, who were easily Real’s best players in my opinion, with Courtois saving Real from a much worse scoreline on various occasions and Diomande giving us a much needed breath of fresh air with his flair and dribbling on the left wing after Vini’s sharp decline in form. 

Speaking of which, now I can get to the negatives. Vinicius Jr. should no longer be starting for Real Madrid. Until he proves otherwise, he is just too sloppy, too slow, and is only a shell of his former self. Maybe benching him will snap him back to reality and coax him back to his best. Next, Mbappe. It feels weird talking about the two players who are supposed to be the best in the world like this, but they both have just not been good enough recently. Mbappe needs to be more clinical. He has been missing way too many chances that we know for a fact would have been buried had he been wearing a France jersey. And he needs to help out in the press more. His body language has been terrible for someone who is saying he deserves the Ballon d’Or. Finally, Valverde and Tchouameni should not be starting together in the double pivot anymore. If the entirety of last season wasn’t proof of that enough, then surely this game has to be it. With them two in midfield, we just have no control whatsoever. Bernardo Silva should be starting from now on alongside just one of them. He brings maturity and the ability to receive between the lines, which we do not have with the formerly stated double pivot. I will briefly mention the foul by Kang-In Lee on Valverde, which was in every world a red card, but somehow the ref didn’t catch that, despite living in a world with VAR.

Thank you for reading my rant; hopefully next game you get to read a much better review, but judging by the way we’re playing, that is not likely. At least we have international break for a couple weeks to be able to rest from watching games like this.