This season, Real Madrid’s first half versus Girona was typical, but it didn’t matter because they easily won 3-0 because of goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Güler, and Kylian Mbappé. Before Atalanta, here are three brief observations.
Mr. Reliable, Jude Bellingham
Superlatives can be hard to come by for Bellingham, who is asked to do a lot of things, but he always complies since he is a decent man.
Real Madrid has won a lot of games this season, but they have also lost a few, and those losses were more significant than the wins. Bellingham has been one of the top players over this time. Regardless, Bellingham is once again doing Bellingham things. He scored a goal, which was much needed given the direction of play, had three clearances, and created two chances, making him the star of the first half once more. When Bellingham played against Athletic Club, he was the best player on the field against Getafe, as well as other previous opponents.
Bellingham is the first person Los Blancos turn to when they need some ingenuity, and he has been given a lot of tasks lately. He must also avoid poor pressing sequences, be a forceful presser, win challenges and duels, move the ball from point A to point B, block shots, score goals, preserve the planet, and more.
However, it is not sustainable. Of course it isn’t. Even if it is difficult to accept, Bellingham is a human. He is pulling Real Madrid out of every rut he can, but he is only capable of so much; other players must step up and Ancelotti must ask him for less before he begins to grow (rightly) weary.
A terrible first half
The aforementioned man had to save Real Madrid’s blushes after they performed terribly in the first half. Eighth-place Girona was tearing Los Blancos apart rather easily, and they occasionally had no response.
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Real Madrid had nothing to show for their possession and passes after that, other from Bellingham’s goal. They had no trouble maintaining possession of the ball without any purpose or motivation, and they appeared to be a team severely devoid in ideas.
The first half was just awful, and if the opposing team had scored first, the alarm bells would have started to ring. However, Real Madrid found their footing in the second half and were once again inspired by Bellingham’s stunning assist to Arda Guler, who pushed the accelerator just enough to give the team some breathing room.
On Tuesday, Real Madrid will play Atalanta. Being aware of how important their victory is and how difficult it will be to defeat a team challenging for the Serie A title, they will have to improve heavily. The press was poor—drop it. If they press that way against Atalanta, they will get burned down with no remorse, and that is the opposite of what Real Madrid wants in this situation.
Los Blancos need to win badly on Tuesday, so if they can do one thing, it’s to make sure they don’t perform like they did on Saturday.
Luka Modric, eternal
One of Luka Modric’s better games of the season was this one. Modric has had a slow season, so that aspect is not a surprise. It’s amazing to see Modric play at this level at this age, to be completely honest, but it speaks volumes about his caliber and durability. Modric is well on his way to playing at Madrid until he is forty, but that is not for everyone.
Even while his physical characteristics are gradually deteriorating each season, his football IQ remains almost unaffected. He is still a fantastic passer of the ball, has good vision, and can manage the game rather well.
Modric might not be ready to begin.every game, but if you want to keep the ball after the game, he’s still a smart choice. He is still quite adept at controlling the game for 20 to 30 minutes if you want to witness our successes.
Modric was excellent during the full ninety minutes he played against Girona. He finished with one assist, 121 touches, 103 of the 112 passes completed, four critical passes, eight of the ten long balls completed, two clearances, one interception, and a tackle.
The Croatian became the first player this season to complete more than 100 passes in a football game and contributed to every Real Madrid goal.
Even if Modric isn’t the same player he once was, he can still occasionally put on stunning displays.
