I have some time to kill before heading to the Bernabeu for tonight’s game, so I thought it would be the perfect time to fire off some pre-game thoughts — some of which may not age well but I’ve tried to keep it to general points rather than game-specific:
Vinicius Jr starting and the surrounding attack
A lot of people are making a big deal about Vinicius starting tonight but I personally don’t see an issue with a well rested Vini getting a start against RB Leipzig when it’s clear he’ll miss three more games due to suspension, and it also gives
Jose Mourinho the potential to rest and rotate key players for Barcelona (a far more important game.)
Leipzig are good, but in big games, they’ve been terrible. They are one of the few teams that will give Real Madrid space in transition to attack. They have incentive to push their high line and score given that they lost against Como and have upcoming games against Manchester City and Manchester United which could make their path to the top-eight complicated.
Vinicius’s suspension is the best thing that could’ve happened to him and the team at this juncture. It forced Mourinho to play without him in the Camp Nou, while also, by default, giving confidence to Yan Diomande at a pivotal juncture.
He needed this forced rest; the team needed this suspension.
Vinicius looked good — even fresh and hungry — in his cameo against Villarreal. It only makes sense to play him against Leipzig tonight given he technically won’t be able to play again until November 7th against Valencia (an ironic place to return.)
(I do realize that ‘Vinicius looked good against Villarreal’ is technically incorrect because he undid everything with his red card — but you get my point.)
More interesting is how the surrounding pieces fit alongside Vinicius and Mbappe. Will Diomande have the same usage and efficiency? AS had predicted that Fede Valverde would start on the right wing which is something I’ve been pushing for. I’d keep my eye on that as well.
Kylian Mbappe looked really good against Sevilla — how much will Vini’s return affect him given they have zero on-field chemistry?
Either way, please build a lead and sub the key players off — then bubble wrap them for this weekend.
Set-piece disucssion
I love that Don Amancio brought attention to this matter yesterday. Real Madrid’s set-pieces have been underrated. They’ve scored seven goals from dead balls this season — already getting close to the 12 they scored all of last season.
Some of that is skewed by the Güler set-piece clinic against Roma off the bench, but, nevertheless, Real Madrid have been dangerous from set-pieces and crosses for the first time in some time. Güler is a specialist, which is a good combination to have with all of the center-backs (all aerially capable) plus Jude Bellingham, Aurelien Tchouameni, and sometimes Carlos Espi.
Leipzig’s set-piece defending has been poor this season. They also tend to buckle under pressure if one or two goals poke them. The key tonight to a large extent will be transition opportunities and set-pieces.
Ball progressors
I will continue to hammer this point home over and over again. Ball progressors need to be on the field.
We know how Leipzig will play. We knew how Roma were going to play. We know how Barcelona will play.
There should be no surprises if Real Madrid struggles against such teams if the ball controllers are not on the field.
Good defending does not come down just to defensive structure and midfield bruisers staying back — it actually comes more in the form of not turning the ball over in key areas. Every successful Real Madrid team — absolutely no exception — has had brains and ball control in midfield. Success is not possible without players like Güler.
