#4 Defensive woes
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The defence was never really Real Madrid’s forte; their primary focus has always been to attack. However, 2017 has been dismal, so far, as the Blancos have only managed to keep five clean sheets in the 25 matches that they have played this year.
It is a telling testament to Real Madrid’s defensive afflictions that their best defender has been their fourth choice one: Nacho. This is not a dig at the Spaniard, who has been in great form this season and has always put in a good shift whenever he has played. However, the likes of Raphael Varane and Sergio Ramos have been dangerously inconsistent.
Ramos’ red card last night means that he won’t be available for the next two games and Pepe is out for the season with a rib injury. Raphael Varane has only just started training, which means that Nacho is the main man for the rest of the season.
While Nacho is an excellent defender who rarely puts in a foot wrong, Raphael’s Varane’s inconsistency and Ramos’ temperamental nature means that the Blancos are in a dire need of defenders. Fortunately for them, Jesus Vallejo—who is on loan at Frankfurt—is having a tremendous season in Germany and will more than likely feature for the Galacticos next season.
But before that, they have to finish this season—and it will be a very difficult task for them to achieve glory with the current state of the defence.
