Real Madrid vs Viktoria Plzen: 5 Talking Points from the game

Julen Lopetegui selected a very strong Real Madrid line-up to begin the game with, and Viktoria Plzen's team was overwhelmed by the occasion. They looked like a fish out of water for most of the game until they finally pulled one back in the last quarter of the match and really applied pressure on our diminished backline.

Though Varane would be grateful for the rest before El Clasico coming up this weekend, the sight of an injured Marcelo limping off the pitch at the death was disturbing to see considering he looks the best attacking outlet at the club right now, which is an absolute shame, but sadly is justified by the way things are in the club at this moment.

Missing both him and Lionel Messi has robbed both the teams of extremely crucial attacking outlets (Messi more so than Marcelo but whatever), but football can be cruel.

Benzema scored early on from a peach of a cross by Lucas Vasquez, after Sergio Ramos had a chance come off the post in the fifth minute. The visitors missed big chances in the 11th and 30th minute through Milan Pertzela and David Limbersky, which they really should have scored as Real looked extremely shaky whilst shifting from attack to defence, leaving too many gaps to run into.

Lucas Vasquez while providing a brilliant outlet at the right could not cover his defensive zone and Viktoria attacked down his flank the most whenever they could with only two of their attacks coming down the right flank. Real Madrid had two goals on the night disallowed for offside, and Isco missed an absolute sitter when the keeper passed the ball directly in his feet and he chipped it wide.

The visitors pulled back with Hrosovsky in the 78th minute and it looked game on from that moment until then but Madrid pulled through with a victory despite worrying signs. The victory was deserved but the discrepancies at the back are truly worrying, more so now that Marcelo is injured and probably ruled out of the Clasico with the unexperienced Regulation as his only backup. Here are my observations from the game.

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#1 Viktoria Plzen could have come away with a victory

Real Madrid started with Lucas Vasquez and Nacho in the backline along with Ramos and Marcelo and whilst that defence looks solid enough to defend against an attack like Viktoria, Vasquez is not a right back, just a tenacious right winger, and while his attacking play was good, his defence left a lot to be desired.

Viktoria had a handful of clear-cut chances which had they taken would have changed the complexion of the match and made things very dire for the current holders. The visitor's defence should be grateful for the three points, and things are only getting worse for Julen Lopetegui as having Carvajal on the sidelines was bad, but having Marcelo join him there (again!!!) is a major problem that he wishes he didn't have before his most important match as a manager.

Odriozola is brilliant and was one of the best right backs behind only Carvajal and Sergi Roberto in the league, and it could be a brilliant opportunity for him to step up and etch his name in club folklore if given the opportunity by the coach.

#2 Fans need to be more patient with the coach

Real Madrid v Viktoria Plzen - UEFA Champions League Group G

Real Madrid is a club so used to success that a stretch of 5 matches without a victory will be remembered as one of the darkest periods in club history, but is this really coming as a surprise to us?

Last year after the win in Cardiff, Zinedine Zidane quit the club claiming; “I spoke to the president to explain what I thought. I think it is the moment, for me and for the squad. I know it is a bit of a strange moment but I think it is the right moment. This is a team that should keep on winning and it needs a change for that. After three years, it needs another discourse, another working methodology, and that’s why I took this decision.”

His words ring true now more than ever. The club needed a revamp, and whilst lifting the European crown for the third consecutive year was definitely a historic moment, the same team was 23 points behind the league leaders last year. Over the last few seasons, the club has lost a lot of quality players and has not replaced them with players of the same calibre. Instead, they chose to go for unproven youth which barring the case of Asensio, Ceballos has so far not worked out so well.

This is a side handed over to a coach who left a lot to be with this club, with more issues than he could fix magically over just one summer. Our squad, whilst still one of the world's greatest, is now ageing, and adequate cover and replacements have not been made to replace the ones who are gone or those who are slowing down.

Before we all start pointing fingers at the person at the helm, we must look at the problems that were at the club before he arrived, and give him the opportunity to transition this club from what it used to be to what it can be.

#3 Real Madrid's style of play :

Real Madrid, whilst lacking a lot of goals, have looked like a team with much more intent and confidence on the ball. Although they lake any real pace on the flanks barring Bale and the fullbacks, their passing play has improved drastically and the players are linking up with each other quite well as part of the new attacking scheme.

When it comes off, as it did against Roma, and tonight (at least till Bale came off) it is quite aesthetically pleasing and much easier on the eye than the cross-cross-cross of Zidane's day.

They are much better at playing through the middle than they were under the previous regime and I feel that the coach should get credit where it's due. It's not his fault if so many of his crucial players are picking up niggling injuries, or the board is being a miser by signing players like Mariano (who could still be a solid goalscorer when given a fair crack) to replace the best player in the World.

#4 Karim Benzema must be dropped

Real's strike force is simply laughable at the moment, and there's no easy way to say this.

Lopetegui started Karim Benzema tonight that the lanky Frenchman played a half decent game against a significantly weaker opposition, by scoring one in the 11th minute after it was laid to him on a silver platter by Vasquez. However, barring that, all the chances he received (which was quite a lot BTW) he fluffed or shot them straight at the keeper and apologized to his teammates immediately afterwards.

I suspect that he has some dirt on the club because for a club that loves scoring goals so much, relying on Benzema as the main threat along with Bale is simply laughable. Mariano whilst showing some flashes of what he can do is younger and hungrier and the coach must make the tough decisions to drop senior players who aren't performing anymore. It is evident that people who have shown more grit and inclination to succeed and to help the club.

Benzema was kept in the eleven to drift wide and help Ronaldo score, and it seems he has forgotten to play as the main # 9, and he must be offloaded if the club wants to succeed., harsh as it may sound.

#5 Injuries might determine the El Clasico

It's never a good sight to see any player in tears hobbling off the pitch, but it is one that football lovers have been 'treated' to on a few different occasions this week as Lionel Messi and Marcelo, both talismanic figures for their club, left the pitch teary-eyed, knowing the biggest game of the season so far would have them be on the sidelines looking on as football's biggest rivalry is played out this weekend.

Whilst both clubs have amazing quality besides these two players, both clubs rely heavily on these players (Especially Barcelona with Messi, it's unreal how much he does for that club and how much different they look without him pulling the strings). It seems almost poetic that the first El Clasico without Christiano Ronaldo, Messi also doesn't feature, giving the fans of the respective clubs a glimpse into life without the two best players on the planet driving them forward.