Lazy pressure and lack of cohesion at Real Madrid: a tactical deep dive

A sense of dejection surrounds Real Madrid’s recent form. Their league position and favourable standing in other competitions stand in stark contrast, but that reality no longer serves as an excuse. The decline in Xabi Alonso’s team is undeniable and rooted in so many issues that there are no easy or immediate solutions.

The players’ off-the-ball involvement has all but disappeared, tactical disarray grows with every match, and the lack of attacking clarity when space is limited further narrows their options. Madrid are at a crossroads.

Doubts continue to hang over a Real Madrid side that is moving further away from improvement, as was evident against Sevilla. Since it was their most recent match, it is worth detailing the mistakes Madrid made, even if the catalogue of errors stretches back much further.

Alonso’s team bled defensively despite keeping a clean sheet. The fragility of their structure was obvious, with repeated lapses in marking, a press devoid of substance or intensity, and distances between lines and players that any competent side can exploit. Sevilla lacked cutting edge and were repeatedly denied by Courtois, once again acting as a miracle cure for Xabi Alonso, just as he was for Ancelotti, who never hides his contradictions. Tactical and individual shortcomings weighed heavily on Madrid throughout.

Sevilla, like many teams before them, played out from the back with ease. Madrid pressed without hunger or organisation, disconnected between the lines, and were undermined by two players in particular who contribute little in that phase. Mbappé and Vinicius shirk their responsibilities, and the entire structure collapses like a damp sugar cube.

Sevilla always found an escape route through their three centre-backs and two holding midfielders, while Madrid failed to close either central or wide areas. Space consistently appeared behind Tchouameni and Güler, which Rüdiger and Huijsen never covered. The problems intensify when opponents break the first defensive line. There is no coordinated retreat, players abandon their zones, and the limited protection that remains proves insufficient. The so-called press is a curse for Madrid.

In their last five matches, they have averaged just five interceptions per game in advanced areas, four fewer than their previous average. The profound change Alonso promised on arrival has collapsed, and his attempted shift towards pragmatism, with a calmer and more controlled team, has achieved nothing.

This erratic pressure is compounded by poor marking. Madrid neither press high nor properly track potential receivers. This was clear against Elche, with the long balls occasionally attempted by Eder Sarabia. It appeared again in Borja Iglesias’s supporting runs during the missed chance against Celta at the Bernabéu.

It was even more evident against Sevilla, with Alexis Sánchez and Isaac Romero repeatedly finding space between the lines. Rüdiger and Huijsen consistently allowed separation from their markers, as did Asensio and Fran García. The midfielders, meanwhile, lacked both the awareness and the responsibility to recover once the play moved beyond their control.

Sevilla repeatedly dragged Madrid back into their own half, progressing the ball through vertical passes before attacking the space behind the defence. This pattern persisted throughout the match.

Madrid’s problems go beyond individual defensive performances, but there is little doubt that their specialists are also declining. With so many absences, and without Militão’s tactical awareness or Carvajal’s experience, reliability is in short supply. Rüdiger and Huijsen’s display against Sevilla was one to study, for all the wrong reasons. They were late to everything and made the wrong decisions time and again.

The criticism focused more heavily on the Spanish international, but the German was exposed too often and showed he struggles physically when defending large spaces. The gaps between the centre-backs were wider than in previous matches, and cover was virtually non-existent. That Sevilla managed 13 shots on target, or that Talavera faced 16 in total, should not surprise anyone anymore. The recent run of matches has made this outcome feel inevitable.

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