Second loss in three days in front of their own fans against their greatest rivals. What is the problem with Real Madrid?
Not only did Real Madrid lose the chance of winning one of the three major trophies they are competing in against fierce rivals Barcelona, they also lost against the same team again and with that loss came another faded hope of lifting a major trophy with only the Uefa Champions League trophy left to compete for with all hopes on.
Real Madrid lost unluckily against Barcelona last mid week in the Copa Del Rey semi final 2nd leg after winning the first leg and ended their hopes of lifting the trophy. Three days later, they were to play the same opponents in a league fixture, hoping to win and reduce the 9 point gap to 6 and keep their title hopes alive. It was not to happen as Barcelona won again in front of their own fans and increased the point gap to 12 which has left them hoping for a miracle with the league mathematically not over. A triumph on their own part that would only mean Barcelona lose 5 consecutive matches and they, Real Madrid win consistently, how real could that be?
The Copa Del Rey loss left much to be desired for Real Madrid. They were by far the best team on the pitch for most part of the match but lost to a more clinical and composed Barcelona team at the end, sending them parking from the Spanish cup.
Three days later, both teams were to battle it out again at the same stadium, the Santiago Bernabeu for the 2nd leg of the league encounter, winning that match was a priority for Real Madrid if they still harbor any intention of snatching the league title from Barcelona. With just one change made from the team that lost 3 nil to Barcelona in attack, Real Madrid failed to register a goal once again and Barcelona's one moment of brilliance secured them a 1-0 win again, pushing them 12 points above their rivals in the league table.
Now, Real Madrid face Ajax three days from the match against Barcelona in the Uefa Champions League and another goal less performance might see the whites lose all three major trophies this season.
The scarcity of goals from the whites is as a result of over reliance on the same set of players who are known to be more of assisters than goal scorers. Winger Vinicius and Striker Karim Benzema are mainly looked up to as the goal scorers of the team but it is clear the former is more of a creator as he is still very young to understand the goal scoring principles and the latter still has his years of assisting former player Cristiano Ronaldo still up his brain. There is currently no pure goal scorer in the team and it is clearly the reason why they have barely scored much this season.
Real Madrid's coach Santiago Solari is currently working on a team of the future and it is clearly affecting the performance of the team goals wise. He is trying to involve young and vibrant players seen as the future of the team into the line up. Everything good that has happened since Solari's take over of the team has come from the left wing. The combination of a 22 year old left back replacing the most skillful left back in world football Marcelo and an 18 year old winger, both of whom were very impressive against Barcelona and deserve not to be on the losing side.
With how the team is faring currently, I will not be surprised if the team do not win a major trophy this season for it is crystal clear, they need to sign some replacements and most importantly, a pure goal scorer.
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