RCD Mallorca 1-0 Real Madrid: 4 players who disappointed for Los Blancos | LaLiga 2019/2020

Real Madrid fell to their first defeat of the domestic season at the Iberostar stadium, with a well-placed finish by Largo Junior in the seventh minute enough to give the newly promoted RCD Mallorca all three points.

With Barcelona having defeated Eibar earlier in the day to move one point clear of their bitter rivals, Real Madrid would have wanted to pick maximum points to get back to the top of the table, but that failed to happen with the result being that Zinedine Zidane's men are already playing catchup.

The Real Madrid manager came into the fixture without the services of at least eight first-team regulars, with players like Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, and Eden Hazard all ruled out due to one injury problem or the other.

However, despite the setbacks, Zizou still had enough firepower on the field to dispatch Real Mallorca but was let down by a number of his players who failed to step up to the plate.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting four players who failed to pull their weight for Real Madrid in their clash with Real Mallorca.

#4 Luka Jovic

Jovic failed to fire a single shot against Mallorca

It is fair to say that Luka Jovis has not had the start to his Real Madrid career that he envisioned when signing for the Spanish giants.

Real Madrid paid Eintracht Frankfurt the sum of €60m to price the Serbian international after he had starred with 27 goals from 48 matches in all competitions for the Bundesliga outfit last term.

It was expected that he would bring this form with him to the Bernabeu, but so far, that has not been the case, as Jovic has struggled for form and game-time in the colours of Real Madrid.

So far, he has started just three of Real Madrid's 11 fixtures this season, scoring just one goal with his most recent start coming against Mallorca owing to the plethora of injuries within the Real Madrid ranks.

He, however, failed to make the most of his rare chance and was one of the most lethargic Real Madrid players in the defeat to Mallorca.

In total, he failed to fire a single shot in the game, and in a damning indictment of his shambolic display, Zinedine Zidane opted to substitute him off for a midfielder in the 67th minute even though Real Madrid required a goal.

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#3 Vinicius Jr

Vinicius made some poor decisions in the final third

Vinicius Junior is undoubtedly an extremely talented player, but he has often faced criticism for his decision making in the final third, while his non-composure in front of goal has also drawn some flak.

Proof of this lies in the fact that he has scored just five goals from 39 matches in all competitions for Real Madrid.

In the absence of Eden Hazard, the Brazilian international was deployed on the left of a midfield four, but he failed to make a major mark on the game despite finding himself in some good positions.

In fairness to the 19-year-old, he carved out several noteworthy opportunities with his direct running and was probably the liveliest attacking threat for the visitors, however, he was once more let down by poor finishing and inaccurate final passes.

He was substituted off for Spanish youngster Brahim Diaz in the 82nd minute and if Vinicius is to fulfil his undoubted potential, he would have to significantly increase his output in front of goal.

#2 Isco

Isco did not offer enough penetration for Real Madrid

Isco is a hugely divisive figure among football fans, as many believe that he is nothing more than a luxury player, while others opine that he ranks high up there with the best in the world.

On his day, the Spanish international is capable of splendid brilliance, with his technique and ability on the ball almost second to none.

However, he is also capable of exasperating play, while his lack of defensive contribution and sometimes poor final balls leave a lot to be desired.

Against Real Mallorca, it was the latter that was on display and despite controlling a lion's share of the possession, Real Madrid simply lacked the penetration to truly trouble the hosts and this was down to the non-application of Isco in the middle of the park.

He was substituted for Rodrygo in the 65th minute and with players like Modric and Kroos out of the picture, Isco did not do his chances of starting upon their return a world of good with his display on the night.

#1 Alvaro Odriozola

Odriozola was sent off for two bookable offences

With first-choice right-back Dani Carvajal rested for the crunch Champions League clash against Galatasaray in midweek, Zinedine Zidane turned to Spanish international Alvaro Odriozola to man the right flank of defence.

The 46-year-old was however left to rue this decision, as the former Real Sociedad man put in a display that was unbefitting a Real Madrid player.

After receiving a yellow card for a foul in the 19th minute, Odriozola was left to walk on thin ice for the rest of the fixture, but in rather inexplicable scenes, he decided to lunge in with a flying tackle on Ante Budimir in the 74th minute when there was next to no chance of him winning the ball.

This left centre referee Javier Alberola Rojas with no option but to issue a second yellow to the 23-year-old, thereby reducing Real Madrid to 10 men for the final 15 minutes of the game.

An already difficult job was made much harder by Odriozola's moment of madness and pictures of him standing desolately in the tunnel served as enough proof of how grande his error was.