The accounts speak volumes: only one goal from Kylian Mbappé in the last three league games (from a penalty) and three draws for Madrid away from home. From five points ahead of Barcelona after the classic to one point behind after Montilivi. Xabi Alonso finished this Sunday with Vinicius, Mbappé, Bellingham, Rodrygo and Gonzalo García (he appeared in the 90th). But neither. 25 shots for only four on goal. He doesn’t push (almost) all of them (he accounts for 23 of the 41 total goals), the party is unlikely on the merengue side. Also, and very mainly, because the game, as his coach lamented, falls short.
And in the midst of the obvious difficulties, one fact: Rodrygo equaled the worst streak of consecutive games without scoring (30) by a Madrid striker. Just like Mariano Díaz, although he has 350 fewer minutes on the pitch, according to the records of statistician Mr. Chip.
“We lacked aim,” Xabi analyzed. “We improved in the second half, we had more chances and we pushed more. We were able to score. The team showed desire to overcome the 1-0 lead. There were three, four clear chances,” commented the Basque coach, who said that there were no reproaches for his team. He did leave, however, a more in-depth reflection on the game, regardless of the lack of skill.
“We needed to complete more minutes of good football, of offensive football, of dominating. In the second half we did it more. Why it happens is what we have to look at,” he noted. In the preview, I had already warned that one of the biggest problems of these first four months of the season was the lack of continuity. “But hey, this is very long. We are there and we have to continue with the unity we have,” concluded the coach from Tolosa, who admitted that on Wednesday in San Mamés (sixth and last away game in a row) they need the win.
Alonso made a decision during the interval that, without knowing if it was due to a physical problem, was surprising because it was unusual: he removed Arda Güler and brought in Camavinga. Due to conditions, the Turk was supposed to be one of the best prepared pieces to find spaces in Girona’s lower block, however, the young man is not having his best afternoons. Especially since he meets Jude Bellingham. Xabi’s great bet for the midfield tends to be diluted in the company of the Englishman. This Sunday, the white coach operated quickly and left him on the bench. During the first half, the danger had been on the white side.
The one who threatened the most until the charge of the final half hour, with Vinicius striking non-stop, was Éder Militão. After half an hour the ball fell on the centre-back’s feet inside the area and the Brazilian felt like a man in Jupiter. What is being done here? he must have asked himself. He began to babble, trying to find the riddle of such an orthopedic situation for him, and the danger died out just as it arrived. But the truth is that he was the one who created the most danger in Madrid until the final harassment. Beyond this almost accidental situation, in the 39th minute an aerial ball arrived – a more predictable action – and his terminal header was cleared by a great Gazzaniga. That was the only shot on goal by the Whites that was valid in the entire first half. For Mbappé, the VAR caught him touching a ball with his hand and the goal he celebrated came to nothing.
In the first half with Güler, in the second without him, no one scored except Mbappé in the penalty that Vini forced. A scoring hole that hinders a team that does not have much football.
