The Daily Merengue is a place where you can feel free to d all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name! Shoutout to the mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, Kung_Fu_Zizou, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and yours truly, Felipejack
Well done.
It was a good victory. A lot of goals to boos the team confidence and now we are in the 16th position. We don’t have many chances of reaching top 8. Per Opta, the chance is 2.9%.
❗️*IF* the UCL league phase finished today, Real Madrid would play against Juventus or Celtic in the playoffs.
Barcelona or Liverpool in the Ro16.
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) January 22, 2025
But coaching staff should not forget how the first 10 minutes or so were really bad for us. Why do we struggle so much to recover the ball back against many teams?
Getting absolutely bullied by a Salzburg team that probably has a combined market value less than Alaba’s salary. This Real Madrid team has zero cohesive preparation on the training pitch and it just brazenly shows.
— Mehedi Hassan (@MHassanFootball) January 22, 2025
Curiously, we struggle in the defensive department, which is where Carlo focus.
“I focused more in the defensive work”
In post-game press-conference, Carlo one more time said what his focus is:
As I said, offensively, there is much from creativity. I focused more in the defensive level. I tried to improve the defense of the team, because this is the key to success. I repeat: we will never have problems to score with Mbappe, Vini, Rodry, Bellingham. So, it is better to focus on the defensive work, which is to me where I need to improve.
In the offensive level, we have take into account creativity – how the player feels and sees the play. In the defensive leve, there is no creativity. It is about being well positioned and try to defend together, to move together, and to have the same thinking of when press high or to defend in a low-block. It is not a problem of individual quality.
It is really curious on why he does not apply this same reasoning to the offense too. There is a collective work in the offense. Position also matters.
Is Alaba ready?
Carlo was asked about how soon Alaba can start a game.
Alaba is very close to start a game. Today he has played more, 30 minutes. A lot depends on how he feels. For me, he is well, he is training well and I don’t see him with pain in any moment. When he tells me “I am ready”, I will start him.
Do you think Alaba is ready so Carlo can start him over Asencio?
What the team needs to improve defensively?
We have to be more compact as possible, regardless if we are in the low-block or we press high. As I said many times, it is a problem of concentration, sacrifice and commitment. The teams who defend well win.