Real Madrid lost 2-0 to Liverpool on Matchday 5 of the Champions League.
Real Madrid were no match. Traveling to Anfield, Real Madrid were unable to confirm their renewed form and confidence against Liverpool. Here are the lessons of a meeting with an almost predictable outcome.
No, Real Madrid is not back and is not reassuring!
It's difficult to be so categorical after the fact. However, this Real Madrid is not ready and that is predictable. We can't take care of an average start to the season in two La Liga matches, against opposition within reach. The trip to Anfield was the real response expected after the defeats against FC Barcelona and AC Milan.
The evidence that a sick team, lacking confidence and decimated by long-term injuries, could not find the miracle recipe in two championship matches and hope for something against the most in-form team on the continent at home. the moment this article was written. Despite a convincing first 30 minutes defensively, the rest of the meeting highlighted the recurring problems visible at least since the start of the exercise.
Vini Jr, the absentee who is not wrong
Vini Jr was sorely missed on the Madrid offensive front. Technical leader, star of the team, without his presence, the team sorely lacked cohesion in the offensive sequences. In order to keep Kylian Mbappé on the left side of the attack, Brahim Diaz found himself in the axis, occupying a role of 9.5. The Spanish-Moroccan pressed, put his heart into it, but was not followed by his teammates. He did not know how to make himself as available as a Vini, nor make a difference with a run, a pass or a dribble.
The absence of Madrid number 7 raised a question: how would Kylian Mbappé evolve? Of course, he recovered the left side, but how was the Frenchman going to manage without the friend who worked hardest to give him confidence? How can we substitute the activity of the one with whom he has the most affinity and is ultimately most sought/found? The truth from Anfield responded to us coldly like the temperature in the stadium: the Frenchman seemed to start from 0 on the pitch.
Raúl Asencio, the clearing in the cold night of Anfield
Raúl Asencio is one of the rare satisfactions of this match. The context no longer needs to be presented, and the team came close to complete defeat. But for a first full-scale test, the youth player showed some interesting things. Endowed with good aggression, not found wanting throughout the match, showing character and precision in his restarts, the Spanish jewel would probably have received more praise if the result had been anything other than 'a defeat at Anfield.
Raúl Asencio is a reason for hope for a better tomorrow. He brings freshness to a team that is understaffed and lacking ideas. Standard qualities for modern football, but a sobriety (already) worthy of the best in his position. There is no doubt that we have a new great in our ranks if we give him continuity. Injuries are clearing his horizons for the moment, to see if he can have such significant minutes with the return of the injured in central defense.
Abdoulaye D.
