Real Madrid 0-1 Tottenham: 4 talking points

#4 Despite over €300m spent, Real Madrid still look unprepared

Real Madrid’s dismal performance last season meant that an overhauling of the squad was needed, and they towed that path, spending in excess of 300m to bring in five new players to the Bernabeu with Eden Hazard being the marquee signing.

On the strength of this, fans are within their right to expect that the club would challenge on all fronts next season, but as their displays in preseason have shown, those expectations might just be too lofty.

Apart from in the second half against Arsenal, Real Madrid have looked utterly devoid of ideas in their other three-and-half fixtures, with their debilitating defeat to Atletico Madrid being the worst of the lot.

Team captain Sergio Ramos downplayed the defeat, dismissing it as just a preseason fixture, but like his manager said, that it was a preseason fixture does not excuse Real Madrid’s woeful display.

Against Tottenham, it was more of the same, as new boy Tanguy N'dombele and Harry Winks totally bossed proceedings in the middle of the pack further highlighting the unreliability of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric to last the distance over the course of the season and the need for Paul Pogba’s addition to the midfield.

In attack, Eden Hazard continued his disappearing act in a Real Madrid shirt, while there was hardly any player in white whose performance was worthy of praise; although Rodrygo was lively on occasion had a goal correctly ruled out for offside in the second half.

The defence also looks dishevelled and should have conceded more than the lone goal they did against Tottenham.

However, it is not just the players that look disjointed, as Zidane himself has tinkered and changed to no avail.

Against Tottenham, Real Madrid filed out in a 4-4-2, with Eden Hazard and Karim Benzema leading the line and this was the fourth different attacking combination the 47-year-old has tried in four preseason matches.

This coupled with the fact that injuries have been unkind to Real Madrid, with Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic, Brahim Diaz and worst of all Marco Asensio all out with one form of injury or the other makes for grim reading.

There is also the Gareth Bale conundrum in addition to a shortage of numbers in midfield to worry about and considering all these, you realize that Real Madrid are not as prepared as was thought just a month ago.