The moment against Benfica that showed Real Madrid’s biggest weakness this season

Real Madrid are not very good. While they managed to get past a Mourinho-less Benfica side in the playoff round of the Champions League and put behind them a tough tie for a lot of reasons, the feeling remains that the squad now led by Álvaro Arbeloa may still find it difficult when it comes to the biggest occasions this season.

Of course, with Mbappé and Vinicius Jr in the side, anything can happen, but right now it’s not controversial to say that certain elements of the team are easily exposed.

Against Benfica in the second leg at the Bernabéu, Real Madrid struggled in the opening stages to get a foothold on the game as their opponents pressed high in a man-to-man structure and cut off passes into midfield from goal kicks.

Madrid’s right centre-back Asencio was targeted by Pavlidis in the press and Real Madrid resorted to playing it towards Rüdiger and Carreras on the left, who routinely had no option other than a long ball towards Vini Jr as Camavinga, his support in midfield, was pressed by Barreiro, one of Benfica’s two pivot midfielders tasked with jumping out of line.

While Benfica’s press did not directly lead to the opening goal of the game, it arguably created the tense conditions that led to Madrid’s telling collapse early on.

On the ball, Benfica played a 3-2-4-1, with right-back Dedic up high against Álvaro Carreras and Richard Ríos tucked inside to put two players ‘in the square’ between Madrid’s two defensive lines. Madrid were pressing in a typical 4-4-2.

The ball was switched to the full-back and his opposite number jumped, leaving his back exposed. Pavlidis, Benfica’s striker who had been pressuring Asencio on Madrid’s right side, had moved away from the Spaniard and pushed past Rüdiger into the space behind Carreras - this is where Madrid’s problems began.

Instead of Eduardo Camavinga reading the situation and dropping in to fill the gap and cover the forward, Rüdiger followed him, leaving Benfica’s right winger, Richard Ríos, all alone in the middle of the pitch. It was this lack of situational awareness from the French midfielder that began a chain reaction.

In a flash, Dedic took a touch inside and spotted the midfielder. Camavinga was neither covering at left-back nor slotting inside to close off the passing lane that had opened, and while Rüdiger did see the move unfolding and moved to press Silva, it was too late, he was out of position, had allowed his man to be free in between Madrid’s midfield and defence, and moving to press him only meant a simple flick around the corner from Silva sent Pavlidis away in behind both Camavinga and Carreras.

The forward, behind enemy lines, squared the ball across goal and it found its way past Courtois after a calamitous deflection from Asencio who could only slide and hope for the best. But hoping was not enough: Madrid were exposed and 0-1 down.

While Arbeloa’s side recovered and won the game, the positioning of Camavinga, the lack of control from Rüdiger, and the complete chain-reaction of defensive errors highlighted the glaring error that Madrid have this season: their squad is simply not good enough.

Get closer to the game! Whether you like your soccer of the European variety or that on this side of the pond, our AS USA app has it all. Dive into live coverage, expert insights, breaking news, exclusive videos, and more. Plus, stay updated on NFL, NBA and all other big sports stories as well as the latest in current affairs and entertainment. Download now for all-access coverage, right at your fingertips – anytime, anywhere.

And there’s more: check out our TikTok and Instagram reels for bite-sized visual takes on all the biggest soccer news and insights.