Three observations from Real Madrid’s 1-0 loss vs Espanyol

After the Liverpool game, there was this consensus about Real Madrid only performing well until their next big test. The only litmus test for this team is supposed to be continued success without facing the defensive problems they are currently facing, and regardless of what team they play against, they fail the litmus test many times. Real Madrid lost 1-0 to Espanyol on Saturday night, putting themselves under pressure a week before Atletico Madrid visit the Bernabeu. Here are three quick observations.

Will blaming the referee get you anywhere?

Real Madrid felt hard done by against Espanyol. The home team’s goalscorer, Carlos Romero, made a rash challenge on Kylian Mbappe minutes before scoring the winning goal. There is no doubt in my mind, the player should have been sent off. The crime did not match the punishment received. It was a counter-attack for Real Madrid, and Romero’s tackle was far above the ankle and studs first. It was a horrible challenge, and Real Madrid have shown disappointment and anger in press releases, match reports and through RMTV. But, frankly speaking, that is just not the point, is it?

Real Madrid would have faced 10 men if that red card was given. That way, Espanyol may not score a winner, and things might open up for the away team to score a goal of their own. But, how does that matter? You can say that Romero shouldn’t have been on the pitch and so shouldn’t have scored, but he was, and he did. Whatever the case may be, Real Madrid defended poorly there. It is as simple as defending the player if he is on the pitch. The rest is secondary until the final whistle.

Real Madrid lost the plot in that goal. Everyone involved — from Fede Valverde to Lucas Vazquez — was lost, and it showed Real’s defensive frailties. They wore them on their sleeves. Real Madrid dug themselves into the hole, and Espanyol’s defense did not let them out.

Complaining about the referee against Espanyol, who are at the foot of the table, will not help. Addressing these defensive issues that Real Madrid have been cursed with this season, might. It is just a shame that after more than 30 games of this season so far, that is one thing where we have seen some consistency. I understand the outrage and support it, but that will not get you anywhere.

Carlo Ancelotti and the art of running players into the ground

Real Madrid have four centre-backs, not including Jesus Vallejo. One of them is Eder Militao, freshly recovered from an ACL injury last season, who was only just finding his groove. The other, David Alaba, was recovering from one, which left Antonio Rudiger and Raul Asencio on their own.

Militao was then lost to another ACL injury, which forced Ancelotti’s hand and he gave chances to Asencio. It paid off, but it was not enough for Asencio to stay on the pitch after Aurelien Tchouameni’s return. Ancelotti would rather play a midfielder that he trusts out of position, than a centre-back who has not had a bad game all season.

It made no sense. Real Madrid would have been much better off giving Rudiger some much-needed rest as he was overburdened. The option to play Asencio was there — it was right there, but it was decided that Rudiger would start his 40,000th game of the season.

Rudiger walked off in the first half, leaving only three options for Real Madrid. A pseudo-centre-back in Tchouameni, academy graduate in Asencio and an Alaba who has not played a full game in more than a year.

It made complete sense for Real Madrid to sign a new centre-back in January, and they chose not to, which is why this is bothering fans across the globe. It is terrible squad planning ( in some positions ) and continuing to rely on players who are off the back of season-ending injuries.

After Militao’s second ACL rupture, Real Madrid should have realised that depending on a player coming back from a long-term injury was not the way to go. They had the whole of January to plan their actions, but they chose to now do the same thing with Alaba. Hopefully, Alaba does not get injured, of course, but it is just baffling to see that the club is not learning from its mistakes.

It is tough to see a Real Madrid defense without Rudiger, but we will have to do so for at least 20 days. That includes three matches that could decide the fate of Real Madrid’s season. A home derby vs Atletico, and UCL playoffs against Manchester City in January. It is not just Ancelotti or just the club who are to blame. It is both.

Some notes

Real Madrid did not score, but Ceballos was once again the facilitator and the distributor, and he played his role perfectly. No matter what happens, Ceballos is going to be the clear winner individually at the end of the season.

Real Madrid must try to keep him around as the only time they look organised is when Ceballos is on the pitch. Averaging career highs in passes, accuracy and touches (and so much more) is only going to help Ceballos and Madrid this season — it just depends on how the others are taking up that help.

It was also blatantly obvious that the first-team players were just off it. Fede Valverde had several misplaced passes that would have led to chances for Espanyol if not for last-ditch cleanup jobs from Raul Asencio. Jude Bellingham could not get going, and neither did Mbappe and Vinicius. Lucas Vazquez also had a weird game.

Despite all this, Ancelotti was satisfied with the performance, which is baffling. Real Madrid did not play well enough, and yet all Ancelotti could talk about in the press conference was the refereeing decisions.

Those things were not in Real Madrid’s control, as cruel as they were. How they perform is definitely in their control, and Real Madrid, as a collective and individually, showed that their heads were somewhere else.

With Manchester City looming, do you really want your players to play like this? Accountability is needed.