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Defending Spanish champions Real Madrid endured another thoroughly frustrating 90 minutes in the UEFA Champions League and needed a dramatic comeback to secure a point against Borussia Monchengladbach.
The encounter at Borussia Park had a starkly different complexion until the 87th minute of the game. Marcus Thuram's goals on either side of the break meant that Real Madrid had roughly half an hour to save the tie. And right until the very end of the game, it appeared to be on course for a famous win for the Foals.
The Blancos threw bodies forward in the hope of breaking an organised block of Marco Rose's stubborn Gladbach, and it ultimately bore fruit after Karim Benzema's acrobatic finish followed Casemiro's superb work to keep the ball in play. The Brazilian was at it once again as he smashed the ball into the roof of the net after a clever Sergio Ramos header directed at him, bringing the scoreline to 2-2.
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Casemiro's 93rd-minute equaliser saved Madrid from losing their two opening UCL games for the first time in their illustrious history. That being said, the solitary point still sees them linger at the bottom of a rather eventful group, and Zinedine Zidane's men could realistically face an early exit from the competition.
Let's take a look at the major talking points from the game.
#5 Real Madrid's squad rebuild looks inevitable
Last summer, Real Madrid spent upwards of a staggering €250m to sign the likes of Eden Hazard, Ferland Mendy, and Luka Jovic as part of massive summer spend to replenish their squad. Barring the Frenchman, the others failed to leave even a hint of a positive account of themselves, leaving Real Madrid an almost identical squad to the one they've had over the last four to five years.
Although it has been an incredibly successful side that's won honours aplenty, every great side needs a change of personnel from time to time. That, unfortunately, is something that this Real Madrid side did not manage to do. It isn't difficult to see why they have been constantly linked with the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Edouardo Camavinga, and Erling Haaland.
The Spanish champions have often done the impossible, including their historic three-peat. However, they are in need of an influx of young blood, and they need it at the earliest possible juncture. And more importantly, they also need to add another prolific scorer to their front line.
It was evident after their loss against Ajax in 2018/19, it was evident after their failure to progress last year, and they need one going by the evidence of their current campaign.
It would be primitive to say that they 'haven't replaced Cristiano Ronaldo' as he's long gone from the Spanish capital, but on nights such as the one they just had at Borussia Park, this glaring lack of another talismanic forward is bound to come to the fore once again.
#4 Marco Rose's stock continues to sore
Ever since his high-flying spell at RB Salzburg, Marco Rose has been tipped as one of the most exciting coaches in Europe. The German won two back to back titles with the Austrian giants and, additionally, got them to play slick, direct football, much to the delight of the Salzburg faithful.
There was a lot of expectation upon his move to Borussia Park, and so far, it's been a superb run for the towering German at the club. Rose guided the Foals to a superb fourth place finish last year, only behind perennial champions Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig. After a relatively shaky start this season, the 44-year-old was just a minute and a half away from taking all three points off thirteen-time European champions Real Madrid.
Rose's Gladbach fought commendably on the night. Their transitions even until the last few minutes of the game were absolutely rapid, they were compact and hard to play through at the back, and pressed their illustrious opposition to win the ball back higher up the pitch. The opener came as a result of winning the ball back twice in the same sequence near the halfway line and it ultimately ended with a riveting finish from Marcus Thuram (more on him later).
The German coach has already been linked with some of the bigger jobs in football, and it isn't difficult to see why. The Bundesliga is filled with exciting young coaches, and Rose most certainly is one of them. His side's display did no harm to his growing reputation.
Also read: 10 Most expensive footballers from famous footballing nations
#3 (Over) Reliance on the old guard
Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid have, for some time, had issues beyond what meets the eye. Be it their lack of creativity (at least relatively, in comparison to other teams of their stature), or, more importantly, their over reliance on certain individuals. There is no better game to observe the latter point in than their loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.
They began the game without three of their key members, arguably some of their most important ones — Sergio Ramos, Toni Kroos, and Karim Benzema — and it showed, to say the least. The Blancos looked lost without the expertise and sheer quality of their veterans. At Borussia Park, all three of the aforementioned Real Madrid legends started the game, but Real Madrid were nearly undone by their younger, more energetic counterparts.
The first goal saw Toni Kroos give the ball away cheaply, Ramos failing to read the one-two and being dragged out, and Raphael Varane, whose recent form is becoming increasingly worrying, getting beaten for the killer pass. Benzema brought his side back into the game with a goal in the dying minutes of the game, but there's only so much that the legendary Frenchman can do by himself in the final third.
None of this is to say that they aren't good enough by any stretch of the imagination. Afterall, these are the core players of arguably the best UEFA Champions League side ever, and it was the likes of Ramos, Casemiro and Luka Modric who brought them back into the game. But the cannot keep bailing their side out week in week out anymore, and need more help from the rest of the side. It is also worth noting that most of the players that they overly rely on are on the wrong side of 30.
#2 Unstoppable Marcus Thuram
Marcus Thuram became the latest player to torment Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League with what was a magnificent display on the night. Son of French World Cup winner Lillian Thuram, Marcus announced himself to the Bundesliga last year with ten goals eight assists to show for, ending as the Foals' joint-highest scorer.
On the night at Borussia Park, the Frenchman was in sublime touch, and turned in both of the hosts' goals to give them a two-goal lead. Playing off the left of Monchengladbach's attack, Thuram timed a perfect run from the flank to meet Alassane Plea's sumptuous through ball and lashed the ball past a helpless Thibaut Courtois. The powerful strike was simply too precise for any goalkeeper to stop, let alone LaLiga Santander's reigning Zamora Trophy winner.
The finish for the second goal was a rather easier one, but it was Thuram who was, once again, instrumental in the move. After helping spark the team move from the left, Gladbach switched the play and Plea was on the receiving end of the cutback, and his shot was parried kindly into Thuram's path. The 23-year-old could have added to his simple tap in and had a third goal but dragged his shot wide.
Thuram was judicious with the ball, won four out of his five duels and was a player that Real Madrid found difficult to deal with. A superb display in Europe's elite competition, and a player to watch out for heading further into the UCL.
#1 Zinedine Zidane continues to feel the heat
While pressure is not particularly something that bothered the great Zinedine Zidane — be it as a player or as a coach, so far — he has, most certainly, felt the heat in recent times.
Zidane's Real Madrid raised more questions than answers with a dull display at home to Cadiz, and unfortunately followed it up with another extremely questionable display against Shakhtar Donetsk. The Spanish champions started both games in an extremely poor manner and, for the third time this season, they walked back into the dressing room at Borussia Park trailing their opponents.
While they eventually managed to leave Germany with a point courtesy of a goal from Casemiro with a minute to spare, they nearly failed to find a solution to breaking Gladbach's rigid block. Real ultimately resorted to bombarding their opponents with cross after cross — 34 in 90 minutes — to fight their way back into the game.
It's no secret that Real Madrid rely heavily on crosses, to a point where it would not be factually incorrect to say that it is their primary approach to breaking down stubborn opposition. But given the current run of results, and players available at their disposal, Zidane's lack of an alternative route while facing such low blocks could prove to be problematic moving ahead.
Either way, his nightmare start to the 2020/21 campaign has been prolonged with another dire result, and the legendary player and manager now has a Herculean task on his hands. Should his Madrid side face a group-stage elimination from the UCL, the 48-year-old's future at the club could come into question.
Also read: 10 Biggest Ballon d'Or wins in football history
