Real Madrid Vs. Osasuna | La Liga Fixture #13 | Estadio Santiago Bernabeu | 09/11/2024 14:00 CET

Of course, but also our memories can be selective and biased. He lost the ball twice and only misplaced 3/38 passes, so it would be disingenuous to summarize his performance as dribbling and gifting the ball away.

 

lol.... how should I know?
call him and ask.

All I'm saying is that he's not at his level obviously and we're trying to get him back there asap.

 

Mpabbe bilt His carreer using His terrible first Touch to His advantage because he would recieve the Ball with at least a meter to run AND then he would just take off..... Here he doesnt have that meter AND Is having yo adjust how he recieves the Ball with two guys on him at all times.... He wont get etter ntil he recieves the Ball with space to run. ITS Ancelottis job to make that happen.

 

Spot on.

 

Miguel is far more talented than Fran though. Fran doesn't really have an edge as a defender against Miguel either. Both are not good at it. If we don't get Davies, I'd get Miguel back to rotate with Mendy. Fran is suited for Rayo kind of club.

 

I thought Fran was a big part of why we kept winning the ball high when we lost it. He and Camavinga were incredible during the press. And if you think Fran is average, what does one make of Mendy. I think Fran has done enough to be the starter going forward.

 

Mendy is mediocre going forward, but is the best 1v1 defender among FBs in world football. Yamal for example said Mendy is the toughest FB he's faced. In form Mendy we saw last season is definitely an asset against the best wingers in Europe.

 

Mendy has a problem with concentration lapses which happens almost every game. And we aren't even talking about unluckily missing to step up. The guy often has the whole pitch as view when the play happens on the other side and he still fecks up our offside line. This past month isn't even the first time this is happening. It happens constantly.

Mendy is also the worst outlet during the press. He is so bad technically it's painful to watch him pass out of pressure. Together with Tchouaméni and Rudiger it becomes an instant turnover when the ball gets to that side.

We have stopped playing Vini as a touchline winger and have him more on the inside to be able to be closer to goal which will put alot of emphasis on our LBs ball playing ability as well as attacking quality. Two fundamental qualities Mendy lacks in completely.

Ideally you'd like to hit the jackpot with a Dani carboncopy but in light of the available options, none of which are best in the world material I'd rather persist with Fran for the rest of the season and then get Miguel back in the summer.

 

Stealing a meme comment from reddit about Raul Asencio.

 

Okay. But a little praise for that tidy finish maybe? Bellingham is good.

 

But the season is already lost, no?

Surely a 4-0 home win against Osasuna didn't change your outlook this drastically

 

To be honest i think Liverpool might be as good as Barca.
Will be a very difficult game. Depends on the mentality of the team.

 

I might just pull the 8 M buyback clause on Miguel this January. Girona isn't going anywhere and Madrid is running out of players. Tchouameni is basically a starting CB now, and Valverde could end up at RB. Miguel is versatile enough to play at LB and in midfield. And right now they just need bodies to throw on the field.

 

LB is the least of our worries.

 

I think Girona will be out of the CL by then and mid-table... with no options for Europe or fear of relegation. This is why I think there is potential for this to happen, albeit everything has to fall into place.

 

Finally got to watch the match and outside the terrible injuries it was the first pleasant experience watching Madrid in La Liga this season.

We controlled the match from start to finish and the answer was simple as it has always been.

We played the 433 and we went through periods where we sat back. When we sat back we flattened out to a 442 and dropped Rodrygo/Brahim in midfield with Vini and Mbappe up top cluttering their middle.

First match we were in control and stayed in control because we stopped trying to find a way to be like last season and used what we had to adapt to what we are this season.

Also Asencio shows how badly Carlo manages his roster at times. This kid is good enough to spell our starters but can only see the pitch when we have another injury because our starters have to play every minute.

 

They already are mid table.

 

Not trying the academy players is on Ancelotti. There may not be a vast difference of output between them and the starters in some posts.