Luckily we are in July and it’s still very soon, but the Real Madrid Tour around the United States can be labelled as terrible. Two defeats and one draw against Arsenal is the balance after three bad games, with the alarms already going off. The last drop in the tank was the humiliating defeat (3-7) against Atlético de Madrid after a shameful first half where Los Blancos got five goals.
Real Madrid are back now in Europe and their next test will be on Tuesday against Tottenham Hotspur, another tough rival. Zinedine Zidane needs to make many changes in the team, starting with the formation, continuing with the names and especially in the mentality. Los Blancos are starting the games completely asleep, getting goals in the first moments of every game, something similar to what happened last year.
Zizou promised many changes last year, but the same players are on the pitch again. Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Kroos or Modric showed a very low level against Atlético de Madrid whereas Hazard is the only signing with a spot in the line-up. Besides, also Thibaut Courtois is far from his level, so perhaps Keylor Navas should have more opportunities in the team.
The coach is not using the young generation pushing behind. Rodrygo, Kubo or Vinicius Junior are not having enough minutes in these pre-season games, whereas the veteran ones are still unable to display a good level. Same can be said for Isco Alarcón, a player who was heavily criticized in the past with his attitude towards Santiago Solari and whose level is far from good.
Giving all these conditions, something must change before the start of the season in mid August. Los Blancos are still trying to sign Paul Pogba and it’s sure that the midfield needs a push. Casemiro -still on holidays- is missed, but Modric and Kroos need to wake up and get to their level. Otherwise, the team won’t work and the problems that we saw last season will appear soon again.
