Once, Ralf Rangnick, Austria national team manager, said, “A little bit of pressing is like a little bit pregnant. Either you are pregnant or not. Either you want to play pressing or not. But please, not a little bit of pressing.”
Against Rayo Vallecano, Real Madrid executed a little bit of pressing. Alvaro Arbeloa set the team to apply a hybrid press. The Spanish coach aimed to draw the benefits of both worlds and swing between a zonal structure and a man-oriented high press. However, the players’ execution failed to project the coach’s tactical intentions.
Real Madrid jumped out of their 4-4-2 diamond shape into a man-on-man approach, in which Mbappé and Vinicius Junior took charge of Rayo Vallecano’s center-backs. Arda Güler took a position between the double pivots, whereas Bellingham and Mastantuono jumped on the fullbacks. At the base of the diamond, Tchouaméni offered support, swinging across between the lines. At the backline, Real Madrid maintained numerical superiority, which means that the White team was underloaded somewhere on the pitch.
Here (below), after Rayo recycles, Real Madrid shut down the short passing options, via Vinicius Junior cutting off the passing lanes between the goalkeeper, left center-back, and the left pivot. However, Rayo Vallecano figured out a route to bypass Real Madrid’s high press. The visitors exploited the weakness generated by adopting a hybrid approach by targeting the wide overload near the touchlines. Batalla clips a long pass into the space between Valverde and Chavarria:
Usually, in a hybrid press, the goal is to funnel the opposition sideways and lock the ball side, relying on aggressive jumps to prevent the team in possession from drawing a leverage on the weaknesses that emerge between the lines and behind the backline. After Chavarria received the ball, Real Madrid’s defensive structure looked disjointed. A group of players retreated to form a zonal block in the middle of the park, whereas Mbappé and Vinicius Junior jogged back. Rayo Vallecano created wide numerical superiority to work the ball around:
As a result, Pathé Ciss has acres of space between the midfield and front lines to carry toward the far side and create a 3v2 situation:
Jude Bellingham stepped out on Ciss, blocking off the passing lane between the latter and Akhomach. However, Ratiu acted as a link between the fullback and winger to drive forward:
As aforementioned, Real Madrid jumped out from their zonal 4-4-2 diamond structure into a man-oriented high press, keeping a double coverage across the defensive line. Rayo Vallecano’s front-three pinned Real Madrid’s defenders, which generated a gap between the pressing unit and the backline. Additionally, maintaining an extra cog behind means that the team is overloaded somewhere on the pitch. Ratiu and Ciss outnumbered Brahim Diaz near the flanks. Similar to the previous case, Arbeloa’s players are unable to defend Batalla’s long deliveries, as he and the wide center-backs overload Mbappé and Vinicius Junior. The lack of intense step-outs from the backline and an instant lateral shifting across the midfield line pave the road for Vallecano to progress:
Not only that, but Izi Palazon makes use of the space between the lines to dart across and offer himself as a free option to the right-back. In the meantime, Dani Ceballos and Brahim Diaz shuffle toward Ratiu and Palazon:
However, their shift was late as the pair was able to access the free man, Pathé Ciss:
Once Rayo Vallecano finds one of their midfielders, Real Madrid withdraws into a medium block, except for Mbappé and Vinicius Junior, who slowly work their way back:
As a consequence, here, the pivot Gumbau comfortably picks out Chavarria near the touchlines. From there, Rayo Vallecano circulates the ball unopposed between the front and midfield lines, pushing Real Madrid backward:
When Real Madrid opted for numerical equality across the backline, another problem appeared, hindering Arbeloa’s team. To elaborate, Rayo Vallecano anchored Los Blancos’ defensive line, while the rest pressed high up the pitch. Resultantly, Izi Palazon dropped into the hole generated between the lines. Raul Asencio, late in stepping up, enables Palazon to control with ease Batalla’s chip:
Arda Guler and Raul Asencio surrounded Izi Palalzon. However, with the lack of urgency and intensity, they allowed him to establish full control over the knockdown and find Gumbau in close proximity.
In the meantime, Alvaro Garcia pinned Federico Valverde inside, which supplied the left-back, Chavarria, with an island between the lines to leave Mastantouno in his wake and scamper forward:
Consequently, Rayo Vallecano yielded a 2v1 situation, where Chavarria and Garcia exchanged passes…
…to access a crossing position. Near the far post, Palazon and Akhomach outnumber Camavinga; however, Chavarria missed his passes for Brahim Diaz to collect the loose ball:
In this scene, Mbappé expresses his frustration towards his teammates, as he finds himself fighting against Rayo’s center-backs with nobody backing up the press. It produces a disorganized and stretched state, which leaves Vinicius Junior overloaded around the ball:
Pathé Ciss carries the ball around toward the flanks, where Inigo Perez’s team have a 3v2 situation. Alvaro Garcia ties Federico Valverde’s hands down the left half-space, leaving room for Chavarria to advance around Mastantuono:
Again, Chavarria and Garcia find themselves outnumbering Valverde, with the former sliding the ball behind Real Madrid’s right-back…
…to access a crossing position. Raul Asencio covers behind Valverde, with Huijsen and Camavinga outnumbering De Frutos near the far post:
According to MarkStats, Rayo Vallecano accumulated 87.6% as a rate of buildup completion. A very high percentage that highlights how much Real Madrid lacks organisation, intensity, urgency, and tactical awareness in warding off Rayo Vallecano’s attempts to progress with ease down the thirds. Rayo Vallecano indeed lacked the tools to capitalize on Real Madrid’s defensive frailties. Nevertheless, without immediate improvement, elite teams have a big chance of hurting Los Blancos, which will exacerbate the White Castle sorrows.