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Having recently seen an upturn in their fortunes despite their disastrous start to the campaign which led to talks of a possible treble, Real Madrid have found themselves crashing back to earth with a 2-1 home defeat to Girona in LaLiga.
Los Blancos headed into the match on a good run of form having been undefeated in their last eight matches across all competitions and when Casemiro put the team ahead for a 1-0 halftime lead, it seemed that it was going all to plan, with Real bossing possession and creating all the chances.
However, as they always say, football is a game of two halves and this match was a quintessential example of such, as Girona started the second half like a team reborn, hassling the Real backline and forcing them into errors.
At the end of the day, it turned out to be a comeback victory for Girona, as they rose from the dead to post a 2-1 victory which was their first ever LaLiga victory at the Bernabeu which massively boosted their hopes to avoid relegation and put a big dent in Real Madrid's quest for LaLiga glory.
The defeat was shocking to say the least, owing to the disparity in statures of the clubs as well as their form heading into the match and in this piece, we shall take a look at five factors which contributed to Real Madrid's shock loss to Girona at the Bernabeu.
#5 Sergio Ramos's ineffectiveness
Widely praised as the best center-back in the world, Sergio Ramos has won plenty admirers as well as detractors (with more in the latter category) owing to his penchant for leaving it all on the field and doing all in his power (not always grande gestures) to ensure his team wins at all costs.
This tenacity has seen him help Real Madrid and Spain win numerous titles, with the 32-year-old captaining Real Madrid all through its most successful period in recent memory.
However, for all of his adulation, Ramos also has his undesirable traits, some of which is his proneness to the making of rash decisions leading to unnecessary bookings and his penchant for committing defensive blunders unbefitting a defender of his high standing.
Both of these came to play in the defeat to Girona, with Real conceding a penalty in the second half after Ramos inexplicably dived in to block a shot from Aleix Garcia, while he also compromised Real's comeback attempts, with a needless second yellow after his attempted overhead kick went horribly wrong deep into stoppage time.
Sergio Ramos' overzealousness has helped Real to win numerous trophies and established him as one of the premier defenders in the world, but on the day against Girona, it cost his club three points.
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#4 Yassine Bounou's form
It is often stated that only a crazy person would decide to be a goalkeeper, as the position is the most underappreciated, rarely getting the headlines, with their performances no matter how spectacular mostly going under the radar (unless you're De Gea at Manchester United). In the event that they do make the headlines, it is usually for one form of blunder or the other.
Against Real Madrid, while Stuani and Portu might hog the headlines, one man who deserves as much if not more praise is their 28-year-old goalie Yassine Bounou.
On the day, the Moroccan international made no less than seven saves, with the pick of the bunch coming when he kept out a Gareth Bale shot at point blank range deep into stoppage time.
Bounou was a personification of calm and composure, taking charge of all the crosses Real Madrid bombarded his box with, while also showing athleticism and sharp reflexes to pull off some good saves.
Bounou's saves on the night were enough to keep Girona in the game while they were 1-0 down and hold on to their lead when they went ahead and ultimately, these three points could prove invaluable if Girona are to avoid the drop.
#3 Luka Modric's absence
You never really know the value of something until you lose it and this is a perfect anecdote to Real Madrid in the loss against Girona.
For seven seasons, Luka Modric has held it down in the Madrid midfield, helping them win matches with his assured control from the middle and world-class passing abilities.
His displays have earned him worldwide accolades, with the Croat being the man to finally break the hegemony Ronaldo and Messi had on the individual awards when he became the first man in over a decade to win the Ballon d'Or in addition to triumphs in the FIFA and UEFA Best awards.
However, for all his brilliance, a lot of people expressed worry over his age and the need for Real Madrid to let him go.
Luka Modric started the season slowly, which laid credence to this assertion, but in recent weeks, the 333-year-old has been back to his imperious best, dictating play from midfield and being one of the chief instigators of Real's recent resurgence.
He, however, was absent due to a yellow card picked up last week against Atletico Madrid (his fifth of the season) which saw him suspended for one match.
In his absence, Real struggled to impose themselves in midfield, as his replacement on the day Dani Ceballos cannot say to be near the level of Luka Modric, while Toni Kroos and Casemiro were overrun in midfield by Johnny and Borja Garcia.
Following their capitulation in his absence, fans of Real Madrid would be eager to get Luka back within the fold and you can be sure that with his return would come that midfield dominance which is essential to success on the pitch.
#2 Eusebio Sacristan's tactical ingenuity
Girona pulled off one of the greatest victories in their history and a lot of credit should go to their manager Eusebio Sacristan for his shrewd tactical changes as well as gameplay.
Eusebio had a distinct playing career (although some way off his more legendary Portuguese namesake), winning multiple titles at Barcelona (where he was one of Johan Cruyff's most trusted players) and made a total of 543 LaLiga appearances which is the third highest of all time behind Andoni Zubizaretta and Raul Gonzalez.
Since retirement, he has gone on into management to less success and was appointed as Girona manager at the start of the season to replace the Sevilla bound Pablo Machin.
Eusebio had large boots to fill owing to Machin's impressive four-year spell at Girona and he has gone about his job effectively, notably getting a draw at the Nou Camp earlier on in the season.
Against Real Madrid, he deserves special praise for his introductions at half-time, bringing on the highly rated Alex Garcia for the ineffectual Pere Pons, while also bringing on Anthony Lozano for Pedro Porro and changing the team's shape, which proved to be a master stroke, as the piar had an impact on the game.
His decision to move Portu onto the right wing also came in handy, as he was a constant thorn in the flesh of Marcelo for the entirety of the second half, while he also encouraged his team to increase the pressure and intensity on a flustered Real Madrid in the second half.
Real Madrid very much ended the first half on a high, but Eusebio Sacristan's tactical ingenuity proved to be too much for Santiago Solari's men and was a major reason for Giron pulling off this shock victory.
#1 Marcelo's poor form
Marcelo has undeniably been the standout left-back in the world for over a decade, holding down the spot for club and country, with his bursting runs forward and pinpoint delivery proving to be extremely beneficial for his teams.
For the entirety of his Real Madrid career, Marcelo has not really had any challenge to his first-team status, nor was there really any need for it, as his world-class levels meant he was a shoo-in into any team in the world.
However, there have been significant drops in his performance level of late, leading Santiago Solari to drop him from his starting eleven, with upstart Sergi Reguillon being his go-to man for the left-back position.
Indeed, the Spaniard had started each of the last seven matches in all competitions heading into the Girona match and had more than held his own, with his displays consigning Marcelo to the bench (and it can be argued that he was not missed).
The Brazilian was restored to the starting 11 against Girona and Solari would surely be regretting this move, as the 31-year-old was a culprit for both goals, being caught out of position on both occasions leading to Girona putting the ball in the back of the net, while he was not up to pace with his team's forays forward.
Girona seemed to notice his struggles, with most of their attacks being channeled towards Marcelo and this proved instrumental, as he struggled to contain them, with Portu in particular being a handful, carving out numerous chances after leaving Marcelo for dead.
Marcelo has been a faithful servant to Real all these years, but his displays in recent weeks leave a lot to be desired and he must have an improvement pretty soon especially seeing as Reguillon is more than ready to take his place.
