Three questions and three answers from Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid
· Yahoo Sports
Real Madrid ended a two-game leasing streak in La Liga by securing a last-gasp winner as Fede Valverde powered the ball into the back of the net to secure a hard-fought 2-1 win over Celta Vigo at Balaídos, after Aurélien Tchouameni scored an early goal and Borja Iglesias equalised for the home side in the first half.
Three questions
1. Who would play in defence?
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With Álvaro Carreras and Dean Huijsen suspended, David Alaba out with a muscle strain Eduardo Camavinga missing due to a dental issue again, Éder Militão a long-term absence, and Raúl Asencio a doubt with his neck problem, options were limited. Fran García has been frozen out since Álvaro Arbeloa’s arrival, while neither Dani Carvajal nor Ferland Mendy have been regulars. While Diego Aguado and Lamini Fati made the bench, neither Castilla option was called upon as Asencio was risked and had no fitness issues. On the left, Ferland Mendy made only his second start of the season and his first since November, with an assured display.
2.Can Real Madrid stay in the title race?
Even in spite of struggles this season, Barcelona’s woes meant that Real Madrid sat atop La Liga only two weeks ago and held the opportunity to make the spot their own before slipping up against Osasuna and then Getafe. Only one of the last five Real Madrid managers won on his first league visit to El Sadar, that being Zinedine Zidane in 2017, and Arbeloa was the latest man to join the club of Osasuna’s victims. A home tie against Getafe, a fixture which hadn’t ended in defeat since 2008, was different. The win here means that Real Madrid remain only four points behind with 11 games left to play. That is not an impossible distance to catch up on, but even with performances like this one picking up the points, they’re doing little to spark much optimism.
3. How would this front three look?
With no Kylian Mbappé, there was a change as, for the first time, it wasn’t Gonzalo García who stepped in. Arda Güler operated in the offensive midfield role, while Brahim Díaz filled in as an attacker in a similar way to Vinícius Júnior with more flexibility to move to the flanks and offer more tactical flexibility. Ahead of Manchester City, it was an intriguing tactical experiment to envisage how Arbeloa could line up his players if Mbappé continues on the sidelines. It didn’t work as Arbeloa must have hoped. Brahim had little impact and failed to cut inside, with only two touches in the opposition box, and Arda Güler looked lost when he ventured forward in the false nine role, with only one touch in the opposition box and no shots recorded.
Three questions
1. Will Álvaro Arbeloa reach next season?
Even though this may have been the three points that Real Madrid needed as a minimum after two consecutive defeats, there was little to boost optimism around Álvaro Arbeloa’s long-term suitability for the role. His post-match press conference, talking about players who wanted to be there, hinted at the first signs of fracture between him and the dressing room. Arbeloa has long appeared to be an interim solution to a problem and not the man to take on this dressing room of egos and superstars. The work he is doing is respectable, but much like Santiago Solari before him, he is steadying the ship rather than correcting the course and getting the team back on track for silverware. Much like Solari, he is a club man loyal to Florentino Pérez who is saying all the right things and seeking to get the basics right, but there is no sign of him building a long-term project or seeking to start a new era as the team’s coach.
2.Is Thiago Pitarch a first-team option?
18-year-old Thiago Pitarch probably didn’t expect to end the week, which started before he’d ever made a start for Real Madrid, with two consecutive starts for the club under his belt. He’s held his own and did well in doing so with composure, even when under pressure, and not looking like an inexperienced 18 year old thrown into the mixer with little top-flight credit to his name. His pressing showed a work rate and intensity which certain other members of the squad have lacked at any time this season. Even so, he remains a vastly inexperienced youngster who could come unstuck against elite competition, like Manchester City on Tuesday. Poor fitness management, leading to injuries to so many players, and poor squad management, leaving Dani Ceballos as effectively the only reserve in a fully fit squad, have left the ranks looking threadbare.
3.Will we ever see Fran García again?
Since the January transfer window closed, and Fran García didn’t get his desired move to Bournemouth in the Premier League, the left-back has played the grand total of one minute of action, late on in the win over Benfica in the second leg at the Bernabéu. Here, it was made clear that he is third-choice at left-back as Ferland Mendy started ahead of him with Álvaro Carreras suspended. “Ferland Mendy is a player who, since he arrived here has always shown that whenever he’s on the pitch, it’s easier for Madrid to win, and that’s saying a lot, because he’s a guy who always has a smile on his face and that’s not easy when you’re not playing, we need players like that,” Arbeloa said post-game. Fran García may continue waiting for his opportunity until there are only dead rubber fixtures at the end of the season, and it seems that his time at the club may be up, even in spite of a bright start to the season.