At Mestalla, Real Madrid played most of the time against Valencia defending and switching between a 5-4-1 low and medium block. The team looked short of solutions, working the ball around, until Alvaro Carreras broke the deadlock via an incredible individual effort.
Against Real Sociedad, Alvaro Arbeloa encountered a different challenge: A team that wants to throttle its opponents in their defensive half via an intense high press. Real Madrid looked different as well, especially with the return of
Alexander-Arnold. Most of Los Blancos’ attacks were constructed from the left side. The game plan was to bait La Real forward and figure out inroads to attack the space behind the backline. The goal was achieved via overloads on the left to isolate Arnold on the right or via up, back, and through patterns from the left to access the space behind.
Real Sociedad pressed Real Madrid in a 4-4-2 diamond shape. Matarazzo’s team allowed Real Madrid to funnel the play toward the left, trying to trap them near the flanks. One of Oyarzabal and Soler jumped onto Huijsen, with the other keeping a position between Rüdiger and Tchouaméni. On the far side, Wesley narrowed inside to mark Valverde. In the center, Herrera took charge of Tchouaméni, whereas Pablo Marin ran toward Carreras on the ball side. Gorrotxategi was Real Sociedad’s extra defender, offering protection in front of the backline.
In the seventh minute, the visitors applied their pressure, with Huijsen taking advantage of the distance between him and Oyarzabal to pick out Carreras near the touchlines.
The center was closed. Therefore, Vinicius Junior dropped down the line, dragging Jon Aramburu with him.
Camavinga reacted to Vinicius Junior’s deeper movement by darting behind Real Sociedad’s right-back and vacating the left half-space for the subsequent actions. Vinicius Junior prodded a backward pass to Carreras and moved toward the evacuated space inside.
Vinicius Junior and Camavinga were synchronously reacting to each other’s movements. Post Carreras receiving, Camavinga pulled wide to generate space for the Brazilian between the lines. Vinicius Junior let the ball run across his body, leaving his marker in his wake.
As a result, Real Madrid broke down Real Sociedad’s front and midfield lines to attack in a four-versus-four situation. Vinicius Junior attempted to release Gonzalo Garcia behind Igor Zubelia with a pass with the outside of his right foot. However, he struggled with the weight and precision of his pass.
10 minutes later, Real Sociedad tended to trap Real Madrid on the right flank. However, Tchouaméni created separation, coming short quickly to receive Courtois’ pass and bounce it off to Huijsen. Despite being in a three-versus-three situation near the touchlines, Los Blancos found a route to progress. As he passed the ball to Carreras, Camavinga pulled wide to draw Jon Martín with him and evacuate the left half-space for Carreras to drift infield. The Spanish left-back carried the ball forward, breaking down the visitors’ lines. In the meantime, Gonzalo Garcia and Vinicius Junior dropped out, pulling Zubeldia and Aramburu out of their positions. Garcia unlocked the up, back, and through passing sequence for Camavinga to clip the ball over the top.
Real Madrid exploited every lapse or moment of lateness in Real Sociedad’s high press to initiate the attack by finding a free player. After being close to Camavinga, Herrera allowed Tchouaméni to comfortably receive Courtois’ pass before turning and picking out Arda Güler who came deep to access the free Huijsen on the left side.
There, Real Madrid generated a three-versus-one situation…
…and it turned into a three-versus-two overload after Carlos Soler shifted toward Dean Huijsen. The latter didn’t give the former the chance to delay his pass, as he immediately prodded the ball onto Carreras.
Similar dynamics occurred. Vinicius Junior’s deeper movement dragged Aramburu forward, while Jon Martín tried to recover his position after he jumped onto Camavinga high up the pitch. However, he couldn’t be faster than Carreras’ pass to Gonzalo Garcia, who attacked depth.
One minute later, Tchouaméni bounced a pass off to Dean Huijsen. Alvaro Carreras pushed on, forcing Pablo Marin to follow him. As a consequence, Huijsen had space to carry the ball forward. Meanwhile, Vinicius Junior anchored La Real’s right back near the touchlines, while Jon Martin worked his way back. Nonetheless, it was late as Carreras embarked on a sprint, taking advantage of the space between Aramburu and Zubeldia. Huijsen spotted Carreras’ run behind the defensive line; however, he opted for a more conservative option:
The off-ball movements and positional rotations were a key component for Real Madrid to disturb La Real’s high press and generate split-second moments for a player to bounce passes off. Once that player was found, Los Blancos progressed like a hot knife through butter. In this scene, Dean Huijsen spreads wide to expand the distance with Carlos Soler, while Alvaro Carreras keeps a high position to pin Pablo Marin near the halfway line. That creates a hole between Sociedad’s first and midfield lines of pressure for Gonzalo Garcia to drop in.
Real Madrid’s striker lays the ball off to Dean Huijsen. At the same time, Alvaro Carreras approaches Huijsen…
…and ties his marker’s hands near the touchlines, vacating the left half-space for Huijsen to slide the ball to Vinicius Junior. The latter opted to spin around Aramburu and punish the space behind. However, Sociedad’s right-back intercepted Huijsen’s pass in the process.
After the Albacete disaster, Alvaro Arbeloa put more emphasis on movement and rotations to break down not only the sternest low blocks but any kind of defense. He stated, “We have to be faster, make our opponents run not only from side to side with the ball but also behind us. We also have to have a greater interchange of positions and clearer ideas. On one day it wasn’t easy, but we must have speed to break down any defense like the one we encountered today and in every other game.”
Against hybrid or man-oriented presses, creating separation and winning duels against the opponent is what makes the difference. Speed in actions, synchronized movements, and smart position swapping are the key ingredients for gaining an edge over the opposition. After Real Sociedad’s game, Federico Valverde claimed, “Arbeloa asks for a lot of movement on the pitch.”
Apparently, having a full week at his disposal and with the return of key players, Alvaro Arbeloa started to put his touches on the team, which was clear in the way Real Madrid attacked from build-ups or in settled possession.
