Real Madrid are finding it all so difficult

Every game for Real Madrid in LaLiga is a match point against them, said Álvaro Benito on the radio. They need to win each of them to keep their hopes alive, but if they lose, they’re out. They won their game yesterday against Huesca, but struggling badly against the bottom side in the table. They could have been knocked out in the second half, when, in six minutes, they let in a goal and saw two shots come off Courtois’ crossbar. Later, after Varane’s equaliser, Courtois saved them with the stop of the afternoon from a brutal header from Mir. Zidane’s men kept pressing, with little flair, and another goal from Varane finally did for Huesca. But the next game will be along soon enough.

Real Madrid not even in LaLiga title race

I don’t even see Real Madrid in the title race, given how Atlético are playing. Something cataclysmic would need to happen - with serious numbers of players out ill with coronavirus for example - for Atlético to let slip the advantage they’ve built up over their city rivals. Barça are in the hunt though, getting better all the time. So I’m looking at Real Madrid’s games more for signs of recovery ahead of the Champions League than for anything else, but it’s not encouraging. It’s true that Vinicius had a few good moments yesterday, though his final ball is still poor, and the team managed to turn the screw on Huesca to yield victory, but…

No spark about Real Madrid

There’s little spark about them. A decent midfield, Benzema’s class, an occasional moment from Asensio… But the team lacked coordination when they tried to push upfield yesterday, allowing Huesca to launch blistering attacks. What’s more, Hazard, who has been constantly injured has now surpassed Bale and is going for Woodgate’s record, and he’s joined all of a sudden by Ramos. It’s no surprise Zidane has lost his composure, because he knows he’s got nothing to fall back on and the bombs fired at him in the press conference come directly from the presidential suite. At least Madrid won this time, even if it was against the bottom club - it at least calms things down for now.