A woeful Real Madrid fell to their first league defeat of the season on Saturday evening, losing 1-0 to Mallorca at Son Moix thanks to a first-half strike from Lago Junior.
MALLORCA
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Reina (7); Sastre (5), Valjent (6), Raillo (6), Gamez (6); Febas (7), Baba (6), Sevilla (6); Rodriguez (6), L. Junior (8*), Budimir (7)
Substitutes: Lumor (6), Take (6), Trajkovski (5)
REAL MADRID
Key Talking Point
Following Barcelona’s comfortable win at Eibar, ?Real Madrid needed to win if they wished to return to the top of the table. Zidane came into this game without the likes of Toni Kroos or Luka Modric in midfield, giving him a selection headache, but the expectation was that the team should still have more than enough quality against a team down in the relegation zone.
However, it was far from straightforward. The team made a catalogue of mistakes in the early exchanges and paid the price, falling a goal behind. But, the main problem was the lack of balance in the team – square pegs in round holes. As part of a 4-4-2 formation, Isco was asked to play in the middle of the park with Casemiro, while James was operating on the right wing, meaning he needed to track back and do his defensive duties.
The issues were clear for all to see, with Mallorca overrunning Los Blancos in midfield, resulting in them conceding the opening goal. Further up the pitch, both Benzema and Luka Jovic were left isolated and unable to impact the game positively. With the game drifting away from Madrid, Zidane made a double change in the hope that it would have the desired impact.
It didn’t.
The away side may well have dominated possession, but they rarely ever tested Manolo Reina in the opposition goal and, ultimately, paid the price – handing Barcelona top spot in the table.
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Player Ratings
Starting XI: Courtois (3); Odriozola (4), Militao (4), Ramos (6), Marcelo (6); Casemiro (5), Isco (4), James (7*), Vinicius Jr. (5); Jovic (4), Benzema (6)
Substitutes: Valverde (5), Rodrygo (5), Brahim (N/A)
STAR PLAYER – It was a sub-par display from Real Madrid, in which far too many players underperformed. However, James Rodriguez was once again the team’s standout performer, despite being asked to play out of position.
Playing on the right of the midfield, he was asked to track back and while he struggled in the early moments, he warmed to the task and made a crucial challenge on the edge of his own six-yard box to prevent Mallorca from going two goals up. Going forward, James was the hub of everything good, providing a sumptuous pass through to Benzema in the first half, who saw his effort clip the bar.
His range of passing and vision is impeccable and although it was a tame team display, the attacking midfielder once again proved his worth to the manager after two years of being shopped around to all and sundry.
Looking Ahead
Mallorca will hope to secure an important three points next time out, as they travel to take on Leganes before hosting Osasuna.
Real Madrid next return to action in the Champions League in , where they will hope to overcome Galatasaray as they look to get their European campaign back on track.
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