Real Madrid vs Roma: Five Things We Learned
By Vijay Vemu
2. Real Madrid’s attacking lineup didn’t do a whole lot of attacking in the first half
Disappointing start from Madrid’s attack to begin tie
By starting both James Rodriguez and Isco, Real Madrid came out saying they were going to attack and they did the complete opposite in the first half. Real Madrid looked flustered and did not register a single shot on goal in the first half.
It was a poor performance from a team like Real Madrid who have blown out opponents left and right ever since the appointment of Zinedine Zidane. Under the appointment of the Frenchmen, Real Madrid were able to scored more than four goals in four of the six games coming into this match.
For a team that was playing such great attacking football, the first half was surely a disappointment. Putting out an attacking lineup with James and Isco in the midfield and not having a shot on goal was an embarrassment for Madrid. Yes they surely made up for it in the second half but they have to be able to start out games with their foot on the pedal.
They may have been fine against Roma but against teams like Barcelona and Bayern Munich, that won’t fly at all. Starting slow is what got Real Madrid smashed against Barcelona in El Clasico last year and they have to make sure they won’t make the same mistake twice as they head into the harder stages of the Champions League.
Next: What We Learned #1