Real Madrid have suddenly hit a downward spiral as they went crashing out of the Spanish Supercup competition at Athletic Club Bilbao’s hands in the semi-final stage. The Whites have also drawn two of their last three fixtures in the league against Osasuna and Elche, who are both battling relegation.
Real Madrid started the season on the best of notes as they went on top of the Primera Divison points table, but a string of poor performances of late is making things look incredibly difficult for Zinedine Zidane’s side. The Whites are placed second in the points table with four points separating them from their noisy neighbours, Atletico Madrid (two games in hand).
In the UEFA Champions League, the Whites are set to take on Atalanta in the Roud of 32 after a topsy turvy group stage campaign. As for the Spanish Cup, Los Blancos will get their journey underway against Alcoyano in the Roud of 32. With the Whites still alive in all the competitions this season, The 4th Official points out the irregularities from the season so far so that Los Blancos can make amends to win the desired silverware.
Inconsistent Performances
There have been three instances at least when the team has just switched off after some scintillating games of football. One day you are playing the best football on the planet, and the other day you are a barely recognizable team. That has been the story this season for Zidane’s team.
The first hiccup was back in October when Real lost to Cadiz and Shakhtar rather unexpectedly and against the run of form. The team bounced back when it mattered in the El Clasico with a convincing victory. However, things took a turn for the worse when the Whites were hammered 4-1 by Valencia. Following which the team lost to Shakhtar once again and also to Alaves at home.
The third slump in form is ongoing at the moment with the poor results in recent times. The key for Zidane’s team to winning any sort of silverware this season is to remain consistent with their performances. There’s absolutely no doubt about the quality that this squad boasts of and the sort of results they are capable of achieving. However, it is essential to keep the moment going without any lapses in concentration.
Man Management
Zinedine Zidane might have received heaps of praises for his man-management since he started his managerial career, but the story this season has been very different. The French gaffer has been actually poor with the way he has managed the squad at his disposal. There are a couple of examples of Ziziou’s poor man management this season and the one that tops that list is Luka Jovic.
The player recently secured a return to Frankfurt on a loan deal until the end of the season. During his 18-month stay in Madrid, Jovic was sparingly used. The expensive signing contributed to the side with just two goals and two assists in over 30 appearances. The decision to loan out Jovic is controversial as well. The third choice striker, Mariano, was allowed to stay at the club and Jovic, who is believed to be the long term successor to Karim Benzema at Real, was allowed to leave on a temporary basis.
Zizou has also been unable to utilise his squad to the fullest with an abundance of talent just rotting on the bench. Isco, Valverde, and Odegaard have been eagerly waiting for their chance to shine, but it has just not come by so far. Zidane might consider looking back to when he won his first La Liga trophy with Real Madrid back in 16/17. The striking feature from that season was the immense squad depth Real boasted and how efficiently Zizou utilised every single one of them.
