Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid will be eager to return to winning ways against Girona later tonight when they line up at Estadi Montilivi.
The Merengues have not enjoyed a great run of results of late and are coming fresh off a loss at San Mames to Athletic Club where they were largely outplayed.
Girona are no less of a formidable opposition and will be confident in their chances against a wounded Real Madrid. Michel’s men may not be as high-flying as last season but are still just two points away from European qualification places.
The Catalan side are also entering the game at Montilivi after a recent rut and will be looking to pick off a special win. For Real Madrid, it is all about maintaining the narrow gap with Barcelona and staying on their toes.
Madrid Universal brings you three talking points ahead of Girona vs Real Madrid.
Need for consistency
Real Madrid’s struggles this season have indeed been linked with a dropped level in the quality of players across the field. However, that has not entirely prevented them from taking points in important games.
Los Blancos have shown brilliance in flashes and their ability to win without dominating games is well documented. In fact, they were not the better team on the field in most games even last season when they won two trophies.
The difference this time around is with the consistency of individual players stepping up and the Merengues’ results are testament to the same.
Real Madrid have lost five of their last 11 games across all competitions with a defeat percentage alarmingly close to 50% and there is a lot that must change in terms of their consistency with wins.
The defeat to Lille, for instance, triggered a good response and the team went on to win their next three games. The momentum stopped at that point and they lost the next two.
Just when it appeared thereafter that they were back to winning ways with two wins, they lost to Liverpool and then again recorded one win and one defeat in their next two games.
Real Madrid are thus in dire need of momentum and the men in white must look to build on it later tonight. After all, the next month will decide the outcome of their season on many fronts.
Should Tchouameni be dropped?
Fighting for his place. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)
Real Madrid’s midfield troubles have been well-documented this season and Aurelien Tchouameni has emerged as one of the leading culprits.
The Frenchman has been subpar all season, both in and out of possession, and has struggled to establish his dominance in the middle of the park.
An injury kept him out of action for a month and he returned to the field midweek at San Mames only to dish out yet another poor performance and is now seriously under the spotlight as a candidate to be benched.
With the team’s midfield requiring more stability on the ball, and lacking control and a creative touch, Tchouameni seemingly offers none of the characteristics required and falls behind the likes of Dani Ceballos in the pecking order.
Ancelotti must thus take a call tomorrow at Montilivi and may look to shift to a more attacking lineup with Brahim Diaz returning in place of the Frenchman.
The three-man midfield, in such a situation, would comprise Jude Bellingham, Dani Ceballos and Federico Valverde.
Mbappe’s final golden chance
Vinicius Jr.’s injury last month came as a massive blow for Real Madrid but was widely seen as a golden opportunity for Kylian Mbappe to showcase his talent.
With rumours floating that the player was fed up playing as the striker and was longing to return to the wing, the Frenchman finally had the chance to play on Real Madrid’s left flank which is his niche.
In the three games that have followed, however, Mbappe has done nothing to suggest he belongs even remotely close to the starting lineup.
The player was horrendous against Liverpool and missed a penalty, scored a goal but missed three big chances and forfeited the chance to take a penalty against Getafe and even missed another spot-kick against Athletic Club.
Vinicius is recovering ahead of schedule and is set to return against Atalanta, implying that the clash against Girona may well be Mbappe’s final chance in the foreseeable future where he gets to play on the left side. Can he take his chance and prove himself finally?