La Liga Matchday 13 | Real Madrid vs Athletic Bilbao

I just realized we had a game against Bilbao today and is about to start in 45 min.

Starting XI: Thibaut Courtois; Dani Carvajal, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Ferland Mendy; Fede Valverde, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos; Lucas Vazquez, Karim Benzema, Vinicius.

Valverde in for Case.

Second yellow for Raul Garcia. Bilbao are now playing with 10 men.

I honestly can't remember the last time Garcia played against us and didn't have a problem. His hatred for Madrid dates back to his Atlético days and it shows every single time he plays against us.

That looked like a legit penalty to me. No idea why Vini wasn't awarded one there.

Fck me. Benzema turned their defense inside out. The only thing missing was a goal. Unlucky.

Beautiful goal by Kroos. 1-0 Madrid.

Even with opponents being a man down we don't know how to do anything other than to cross

We have some good shots from outside the box. We should shoot more often. Valverde, Kroos, Modric and Casemiro all have excellent shots. We need to take advantage of that

First half is up.

Stand-out players: Luca Vasquez, Carvajal and Modric.

Casemiro's absence was clearly felt, but the players put on a decent performance, especially after the sending off of Garcia.

There was some trouble finding the net, but they had no problem controlling the tempo of the game.

Aside from Kroos' goal, there was also a clear-cut chance for Vinicius who unfortunately shot it straight at the goalkeeper.

We still have a serious problem scoring from open play though. This is a serious problem that Zidane should really think about solving as soon as possible because crossing alone is not a great scoring method, especially when you don't have many great headers in the team.

Is it me or Isco is running less than Courtois I’m second half?

I love when we handle business.

Good win got the job done

I can't believe how well Benzema has played since CR has left... kudos to him.

Went from potentially becoming a 2-2 draw to a 3-1 win in seconds. Kudos to Tibu there. Saved our asses

So sad to see Isco this fat and unfit. He is still our most skillful player

Asensio irritates me so much. I'd rather see a player from Castilla than him

halamadrid2 wrote:Went from potentially becoming a 2-2 draw to a 3-1 win in seconds. Kudos to Tibu there. Saved our asses

So sad to see Isco this fat and unfit. He is still our most skillful player

Asensio irritates me so much. I'd rather see a player from Castilla than him

Yeah, Isco really is letting himself go. My love affair won't die of course but Madrid and Isco really should start looking to part ways.

Also, I won't say good win at all. We struggled vs a ten man Athletic side and a good bit of our football was dull and uninspiring. Shit, we almost fucked it up at the end if it weren't for Conetois.

Buuuut 3 points is 3 points so yay to that. I foresee us struggling at Eibar too so I hope said individual moments of magic continue.

Yes, I expected the team to start scoring for fun once Garcia was sent off, but their trouble in front of goal remained the same. I'm glad as well for the three points, but man I would be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by our inconsistent attack.

Also, bravo to Vasquez. He has been playing really well as of late. I hope he continues like this.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:Yes, I expected the team to start scoring for fun once Garcia was sent off, but their trouble in front of goal remained the same. I'm glad as well for the three points, but man I would be lying if I said I wasn't bothered by our inconsistent attack.

Also, bravo to Vasquez. He has been playing really well as of late. I hope he continues like this.

I feel like our offense has been a relatively obvious issue, ever since CR7 left. Based on what I read, we've had defensive issues lately, as well. Do you have any idea why our more recent transfer discussions on here are typically about midfielders? I won't claim to know what we need right now, since I'm taking a hiatus from watching Real Madrid's matches, but I was under the impression that our midfield was the least of our issues.

While midfield is probably the most secure area for us, we still don't have a backup for Casemiro to give him a rest when needed/injured, and Modric is 35. Odegaard has been unlucky with injuries, so we don't know to what extent he will be able to replicate form and take over from Modric. Valverde is showing immense promise, but probably needs just a bit more to be able to have a shout at a starting spot (whether to take over from Kroos or Modric).

In attack, the goal is generally Mbappe and Haaland and that seems to be the general consensus of what reinforcements we need (whether it's possible is a separate discussion).

In defense, Lucas has papered over a concern about a back up for Carvajal, and presumably Reguillon is seen as an alternate to Mendy once Marcelo leaves. The main question mark seems to be at CB (transition from Ramos, whether to replace Varane entirely, and who the backups should be), which discussion seems to have picked up recently.