These observations — where I look at Real Madrid’s history, its players on loan, Castilla, tactical tidbits, and other relevant thoughts — are now a regular thing. All previous editions can be found
here.Here is a new thing I’m committing to this season: Five semi-informal bullet points after each game.
Also, check out the post-game podcast where I break down the win (and more) for 21 minutes:
- Bernardo Silva love!
Bernardo gets some weird criticism but I’m not entirely sure why. Is he the same player he used to be? No.
Is anything his fault? No. Is he an extremely useful player given the deficiencies of the squad? Yes.
Certain midfielders in Real Madrid’s squad hide in the build-up phase.
Not Bernardo.
His experience and football instinct take over. He’s always showing as an outlet in deep positions, stays composed upon receiving the ball, finds the right pass or dribble, then continues to move into advanced zones to continue providing solutions.
You will never be abandoned by players like him.
In a pre-game article, I wrote about how no successful Real Madrid team in history lacked brains and control in midfield. You can’t find one single example. Bernardo fits the category of both brains and control. To what extent he should be playing is debatable, but he’s certainly good enough to contribute way more minutes than he’s currently getting.
Him and Eduardo Camavinga functioned well together.
- Unchained Fede is too good
Unchained Fede (coined here) is too good. I feel like every time he goes to the right, we all get collectively put into a time machine and back to 2024 range where he was one of the best two-way players in world football. Last night he was an unstoppable bowling ball. He was supreme in the build-up phase, and everything went through him — to the point where he had the most touches of anyone on the field. He also had a game-saving tackle and was a creative force.
No one stops him when he’s in this zone.
It’s hard to explain, but some players are just better ball progressors from different positions. Valverde at right-back isn’t as shy demanding the ball as he is as a center-mid in a double pivot alongside Aurelien Tchouameni or Camavinga:
Jose Mourinho discovered Valverde’s best position just in time for Clasico.
- Dean Huijsen dialogue — let’s get it right.
There are two positions in this team I’m going to be very lenient on when it comes to criticism. In order:
- Thibaut Courtois (virtually above criticism at this point)
- The center-backs
Of course the center-backs have a shorter leash than the one we give to the immortal Courtois, but it is important to take everything into context before cooking the center-backs in general.
The center-backs have been good this season. Both Ibrahima Konaté and Dean Huijsen have looked solid together, and Antonio Rüdiger’s cameos have been professional. If at times they look like they’re treading water or scrambling, you almost always have to rewind the tape to see how badly the team’s structure broke down before the play even reaches them. The collapse is almost never their fault.
There is a reason why being a Real Madrid center-back is one of the most difficult positions in all of football.
In Dean Huijsen’s case, yes, there are moments where he switches off. Unfortunately his two big mistakes this season have been consequential.
Look: Even the greatest center-backs make mistakes, let alone a 21-year-old who has been 98% good this season. Let’s not forget Huijsen had seven interceptions last night, big defensive interventions, and threaded the needle with his passing. Anything else in between is something perfectly normal known as ‘growing pains’.
- The Bernabeu energy, and the difference between Vinicius Jr and Yan Diomande.
The overall atmosphere of the stadium was very good last night. I noted this on Twitter, but, the overall ‘vibes’ of the team are very high right now:
But the energy towards Vinicius, from the crowd, was not pretty, while the reception for Diomande — culminating with his goal — was otherworldly.
There was almost a ‘passing of the torch’ feeling. When the sub happened, Vinicius was whistled off the field. And when Diomande’s name was announced, the crowd erupted — and when he scored the crowd went ballistic. The way his teammates and the stadium embraced Diomande was noteworthy last night.
- Is this a turning point?
The answer to this question can only be answered after the Clasico, and not before.
But there are things brewing at just the right time: Mourinho has made big changes, Diomande is gaining confidence, Valverde, Mbappe, and Güler are at their best, and the Fede-Tchouameni double pivot experiment seems to have been martyred.
El Clasico may end up as an ugly reality check, but, most Madridistas would agree that there is more confidence in the team now than there was a week ago.
