Forget Neymar’s broken metatarsal, Real are quite adept at shooting themselves in the foot.
Just when you thought they were out of the woods and had weathered an early onslaught in the Champions League first leg against Paris St Germain, Zinedine Zidane’s men displayed another inept performance to show anything can happen with this team.
Cristiano Ronaldo was rested and the supporting cast failed to show up as Real endured a shock 1-0 defeat away to Espanyol on Tuesday.
Gerard Moreno struck in the 94th minute at the RCDE Stadium as Real’s rotated line-up felt the full punishment for a slack and disjointed display.
As much as it annoys me, Real really are a one-man show.
Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio and Isco all struggled, the trio squandering the chance to impress in Ronaldo’s absence, while Keylor Navas is as much use as a spectator between the sticks.
Bale was certainly not the only Real player out of sorts but the 28-year-old, now back to full fitness, was perhaps under most pressure to stake his claim.
“If you lose here today it is because things did not work for many reasons, not just because of a player or a play,” Zidane said.
Many of those many reasons will stop at his doorstep.
Real will fall 17 (SEVENTEEN!) points behind leaders Barcelona if the Catalans overcome Las Palmas on Thursday.
They face Getafe late on Saturday, and I’d be resting the mob who failed to show up against Espanyol, not my star players.
Resting players or protecting them from injury is nonsense. You do not fire a catapult when you own a bazooka.
If Real keep putting in performances like this, Champions League football is no guarantee next season either. They are third in La Liga but only a loss or two away from fifth spot.
Even the mighty Zidane could not survive that humiliation.