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Three questions and three answers from Real Madrid 2-0 Atalanta, UEFA Super Cup 2024

Real Madrid suffered an embarrassing 5-2 defeat in the Spanish Super Cup final against FC Barcelona. Kylian Mbappé gave Los Blancos a dream start, but it quickly turned into a nightmare as the Catalans scored four goals before the break, through Lamine Yamal, a Robert Lewandowski penalty and goals from Raphinha and Alejandro Baldé, the latter in injury time of the first half. In the second half, Raphinha scored five and Rodrygo scored directly from a free kick after Wojciech Szczesny was sent off.

Three answers

1. Who would emerge victorious from the third round of the “SuperClásico”?

For the third consecutive year, the Super Cup left a Clásico in the final. When the tournament first adopted this final four format, the first three finals failed to see Real Madrid face FC Barcelona in the final, as many of the investors behind the move to Saudi Arabia had hoped. So much so, that the draw produced a semi-final Classic just to ensure the meeting between the two teams. In 2025 we attend the third consecutive final, with the previous two each winning. Barcelona won the first meeting of 2023, 3-1, before Vinícius scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 victory in 2024. This victory tips the scales firmly in favor of Barcelona after three rounds of battles of the Classic in this final, taking the history of the Super Cup with seven finals won by the whites and three by Barcelona.

2. Will Kylian Mbappé be able to avoid the offside trap?

The meeting between these two teams in October was Kylian Mbappé’s first Clásico, but the 4-0 defeat was more memorable for the eight occasions in which the Frenchman was caught offside due to Barcelona’s tactic of playing in very close lines. high. In Saudi Arabia, Mbappé was not found offside even once. In fact, while his well-taken goal was a long run from deep, his contribution to Wojciech Szczesny being sent off came from a perfectly timed run to reach the high line and outspeed the backline and catch the Polish goalkeeper. . Mbappé has improved significantly in recent weeks and while this performance is unforgettable for many reasons, his improvements here were one of the few reasons to be optimistic.

3. Does Real Madrid have a “gala XI”?

fiqo desk

For the first time in a few years, Real Madrid now appear to have a clearly defined lineup. The decline of Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić meant that over the last few years there has been some debate about who would be in the strongest possible team, but this season the answer seems clear. Although Dani Carvajal would surely start ahead of Lucas Vázquez and Aurélien Tchouameni would not be lined up in defense if not for various injuries, the team eliminated in Jeddah was easy to predict. Carlo Ancelotti will inevitably face criticism (read on for some of it), but very few Madridistas would have hired different staff. The change to bring in Dani Cebollas at half-time reflected mistakes made, but it is difficult to imagine that anyone would have seriously considered selecting him ahead of Eduardo Camavinga, who arguably had his worst game in a Real Madrid shirt.

three questions

1. When was the last time Real Madrid gave up a lead like that in a Clásico?

Going forward with five minutes on the clock should have set Real Madrid up for a perfect start. Since 2011, Real Madrid had not taken the lead on the scoreboard and at half-time they had gone behind on the scoreboard. You would have to go back to May 2009 to see the last time Real Madrid lost 3-1 after scoring the first goal. Here, it was even more painful because Barcelona outscored Real Madrid with four goals in the remaining 40 minutes of the first half. Real Madrid were humiliated and simply impressed. Barcelona had a whopping 66% possession in the first half alone, racking up 13 shots and five big chances. The last time a team had five great chances in one half against Real Madrid? Barcelona in the last Clásico when they had five great chances and scored four in the second half.

2. What alternatives are there to Lucas Vázquez?

One player who was especially affected by this defensive devastation was Lucas Vázquez. He has been a cast on paper in the absence of Dani Carvajal, but he has repeatedly seemed like Real Madrid’s weak link in defense. Many of Barcelona’s offensive plays came from their left flank, directly targeting Vázquez as a weak point. Much of the blame is not only on Vázquez’s door. Time and again Barcelona were able to break through and take on the Real Madrid defender one on one. The back four were exposed repeatedly, and neither Vázquez nor Ferland Mendy covered themselves in glory. In total, the two starting full-backs only had two duels and won only one.

3. Where does this leave Carlo Ancelotti?

The criticism surrounding Ancelotti had calmed somewhat in the last month since the team overcame its lowest point of form following defeats to Liverpool and Athletic Club. Now, Ancelotti is once again left vulnerable by the way the team was defeated here. Real Madrid have failed to get results in the biggest games repeatedly this season, losing to Milan and Liverpool in Europe, and taking one point out of a possible nine against the other three teams in La Liga’s top four. A record of one clean sheet in 18 Clásicos is shocking and surprising that Ancelotti has scored so many with such a defensive record, but it reflects repeated mistakes and not having learned from them. Conceding five to Barcelona just three months after conceding four in La Liga reflects structural issues that go far beyond the individual set-up for this match.

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