Open thread: January 6, 2025

The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss any topic related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here or start your own discussions! The open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods you would love to invite to Souvlaki: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, Kung_Fu_Zizou (AKA automobile), Juninho and, of course… Sincerely.

Female victory

Our girlz team has beaten Atlético at home. Be sure to check out the corresponding Immediate Reaction post for a quick but better picture of overall performance.

One thing I noticed: Madrid’s X score highlighted Toril quite a bit after the win.

tonight’s game

Real Madrid faces Deportiva Minera today for the R32 of the Copa del Rey, a competition in which we could definitely do better.

We can expect a good amount of rotations. Reportedly, Acensio, Gonzalo García and Aguado will take to the field. I’m looking forward to seeing García in action, while keeping an eye on his development: he’s quite the attacking Swiss Army knife. Carlo himself has said publicly that he will give minutes to players who have not played much.

However, I am both excited and cautious. Too many rotations, especially those that include a lot of young players, can affect the chemistry on the field and… well, we’ve been surprised by lower-level teams before. Now, these types of surprises happen from time to time and are no real reason to be afraid; If anything, they make the game more adorable. However, I still hope Carlo hits the sweet spot of enough rotations to rest, while keeping the chemistry high enough to finish the heat in bed.

Oh and…

Make of this what you will.