Real Madrid's 2018-19 defence the worst in 10 years
Santiago Solari's side have conceded 19 goals already in LaLiga, with Eibar adding to their woe on Saturday. Not since 2008-09 have Real shipped as many.
Real Madrid’s 3-0 defeat at Eibar on Saturday confirmed Santiago Solari’s defence as the least solid in LaLiga in a decade.
Madrid have now conceded 19 times in the league, at a rate of almost a goal and half (1.46) per game. After Eibar’s famous triumph in Ipurua, Solari simply noted: “We will try to reduce the number of goals we are conceding and increase the number we score, that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Making matters worse for Solari, who was forced to improvise his back four in his opening games as interim manager, in his first as permanent boss he was able to field three of his first choice defence from the start in Eibar and brought Dani Carvajal off the bench when Álvaro Odriozola was forced off with an injury.
Marcelo, Sergio Ramos and Raphaël Varane were all also starters in the 5-1 Clásico drubbing that sealed Julen Lopetegui’s fate, with Nacho on the right in place of the injured Carvajal and the same four were in the XI when Real were beaten 3-0 by Sevilla in the Sánchez Pizjuán. It seems that Real’s first-choice back four are going through a collective crisis.
Real's defence under the spotlight
Not since the 2008-09 season, with Bernd Schuster in the dugout, have Madrid shipped as many goals at this stage of the season. However, under the German Real had only lost three games at the same stage of the season and had scored 10 more than Solari’s side have managed in 13 fixtures.
Ramos cited “attitude” after the Eibar game but José Luis Mendilibar laid a trap that other managers will have jotted down with his high press. Real’s three senior defenders lost the ball an incredible 51 times between them (Ramos 14, Varane 13 and Marcelo 24) as Eibar staged a simple yet effective siege of the Real back four. Odriozola, who had a torrid time against the pace of Marc Cucurella, lost nine balls before limping off.
After the game Toni Kroos stated “we have to improve in defence” while Varane noted that the side as a whole are not playing well. With Roma and Valencia next up for Madrid, Solari has little time to plug the holes at the back.
