Zizou still has some defensive moulding to do
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Pointing out that Madrid are the only club not to have conceded at home in this season’s edition of Europe’s best club tournament won’t do much to ease the supporters’ fears because against a more confident and assured attack, they more than likely wouldn’t have enjoyed such a result.
Simply put, it was too easy for the visitors to create chances against them on the night and La Magicca ripped through them so frequently, there were times a shock win looked on the cards – it wasn’t very Madrid-like, especially at home. Frankly, despite the four goals they pocketed this is a major cause for concern and it’s unlikely to go away the deeper they move into the latter stages.
Indeed, Zidane’s comments after the win, as relayed by Football Italia, are unlikely to be ones the Madridistas will appreciate all that much:
Perhaps it’s true we allowed too much at the back, but I had said it would be normal considering Roma have great players and were coming off seven consecutive Serie A victories
A mentality such as this one can prove highly dangerous, and it almost did during the week.
In possession, Madrid looked to move the ball with an air of authority, but they didn’t carry out their duties with any real speed or dangerous tempo, particularly in the final third, which definitely played into the hands of Roma who often had nine men behind the ball and were keen on over-crowding their penalty area. The industry of Spalletti’s rearguard and counter-attacking mindset caught the 10-time European Cup winners out on a number of occasions as they intercepted the slow build-up play, much like had occurred in the opening leg.
Effectively, defensive awareness needs to be drilled into Zizou’s players across the board because they were simply too porous in all departments, not simply at the back.
The fans can bask in the glory of another continental victory and for some it will be considered a job well done but Real look far from the European heavyweights they have always been and it’s going to take more than a couple of goals to paper over the revealing cracks symptomatic of a defensively unsound team.
