La Liga 2017/18: Bernabeu disaster

(Baonghean.vn) - After the defeat to Real Betis, Real has dropped to 7th place in La Liga, with only 8 points (after 5 matches), 7 points behind Barca. This is also the first time since the 1995/96 season that Real has failed to win in its first 3 home matches. Coach Zinedine Zidane's Royal team is living in a disaster.Bernabeu.

The defeat to Real Betis in round 5 of La Liga ended Real's 73-game scoring streak in all competitions and they had to share the great record with Santos of "King of Football" Pele. Before losing 0-1 to Real Betis, the Bernabeu team had been held to two consecutive draws by Valencia and Levante. After 5 matches, the Royal team's attack only scored 9 goals, exactly the same number as Lionel Messi on the side of arch-rival Barca.

History against Zidane

President Florentino criticized Zinedine Zidane for not boldly changing the team's attacking style of play. Photo: Internet

Coach Zinedine Zidane's problem now is to improve home results before closing the 7-point gap with the leading team Barca. If the attacking form cannot be improved, the pursuit of Barca in the race for the La Liga 2017/18 title will soon end, even though the opponent has just lost new signing Ousmane Dembele until early 2018. The most recent season, when opening the season with such a bad home record (2 draws, 1 loss), Real only finished 6th.

Before that, letting Valencia and Levante hold them to two consecutive home draws also caused Zinedine Zidane's team to repeat the bad start from 29 years ago (1988/89 season). Clearly, Zidane needs to find a solution to improve the performance of Real's attack as well as the "smart in the market, stupid at home" syndrome, not to mention chasing Barca in the race for the La Liga 2017/18 throne. In the past, Real has never enjoyed the joy of turning the tables when being left 7 points behind by their arch-rivals on the rankings!

The last time, under coach Jose Mourinho, Real was also 7 points behind Barca after the first 5 rounds was the 2012/13 season. That season, Real also won 2 matches, drew 2 and lost 1 while the team of the late coach Tito Vilano also won all 5 matches, earning 15 absolute points. At the end of the season, Barca stepped up to the La Liga championship, 15 points ahead of the second-placed Real.

In addition to the defeat in La Liga, the "Royal Team" also lost in all competitions (stopped in the Champions League semi-finals against Dortmund, lost to Atletico in the King's Cup final), plus conflicts with the "Galaxy" veterans caused Mourinho to be fired.

Before talking about catching up with arch-rivals Barca, coach Zidane and his team need to overcome the two "rocks" Sevilla and Atlético Madrid. Currently, the form of these two teams is quite good, belonging to the group of 4 Spanish teams that have not known defeat in La Liga.

Florentino takes action

Ronaldo was ordered to be less selfish in the way he played football. Photo: Internet

After the defeat against Real Betis, President Florentino sternly pointed out to the entire coaching staff and players two main reasons for the White Vultures' poor performance. The Spanish Royal fans and the club owner felt that Zidane and his players lacked ambition when playing due to being too full of titles from the previous season.

First, he criticized Zinedine Zidane for not boldly changing the team's attacking style of play, relying too much on star Ronaldo. According to Perez, Zidane himself is taking advantage of the matches to secretly protest against him and the Board of Directors, after letting Alvaro Morata and James Rodriguez leave. President Perez affirmed that Real has never lacked money, but he realized that it was time to tighten his belt, instead of trying to compete with Premier League teams that have too much money. Last summer, the Royal team did not have any stars joining the Bernabeu to increase competition.

Second, the construction tycoon severely criticized his favorite player Cristiano Ronaldo. In his return to La Liga after his suspension, CR7 showed himself to be too selfish in his playing style, which caused Real Madrid to lose many opportunities that could have been converted into goals. In addition, Perez also gently reminded Isco to ignore off-field stories and focus on his expertise. Since his contract was extended until 2022 with a record release fee of up to 700 million euros, Isco's performance has been on the decline.

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