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#3 Thibaut Courtois
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has been one of the team’s best performers since 2019. This season, too, he has been instrumental in keeping the opposition at bay more often than once. On Sunday, however, he cut a frustrating figure at the RCDE Stadium.
He collected the ball a couple of times and even made a save before Raul de Tomas put Espanyol ahead in the 17th minute. Adrian Embarba’s cross should have been cleared by defenders to begin with, but Courtois could have also done better to defend his goal.
After being beaten at the near post for the first goal, he was once again undone by Vidal in the second half. Vidal’s shot was venomous, of course, but Courtois should have done better to defend the near post.
A keeper of his caliber cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes, especially over the course of a single match. Like Modric, the Belgian must also sort his head out and try to bounce back after the international break.
#2 Vinicius Jr
Alongside Karim Benzema, Vinicius Jr was slowly emerging as Real Madrid’s most potent attacking option. However, over the last three matches, his spark seems to have faded, with the young Brazilian once again showing signs of two-mindedness.
His runs down the left-hand channel were impressive against Espanyol, but the opposition defenders thwarted most of his efforts. When released, Vinicius produced a couple of encouraging touches inside the area, but failed to pull the trigger when he needed to.
The player has often struggled with a lack of confidence in the final third, and it was visible on Sunday afternoon. Ancelotti must find a way to bring Vinicius’ confidence back, making him as potent as he was until the sixth matchday in La Liga.
#1 Nacho Fernandez
The departures of Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane were always going to be difficult to swallow for Real Madrid, especially without the acquisition of a proper centre-back. A good string of performances from Eder Militao and Nacho Fernandez last season encouraged the club to take the leap anyway.
Inevitably, the duo have lost their purple patch this season and are now struggling to guard Real Madrid’s goal. Nacho, who has been at the club for more than a decade, has been disappointing in all fixtures this season.
On Sunday, he was immensely responsible for Espanyol’s second goal, allowing Vidal to nutmeg him en route to doubling the hosts’ advantage.
His form has to be Real Madrid’s biggest concern, at least until January. He looks lost without the guidance of Ramos and we are not sure whether Real Madrid can win silverware with Nacho as their primary centre-back.
