La Liga 2016/17: Leganes 2-4 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

1. Leganes need to improve in the final third, but the match highlighted Real Madrid’s defensive frailty

For all the attacking enterprise and non-stop running that Leganes displayed in front of their fervent home support, they really do need to add a quality finisher of the ilk of Sergio Enrich – it can easily mean the difference between sitting just behind the European places and just above the drop zone. A lot of Leganes’ attacking opportunities though were presented by some especially lackadaisical defending on the part of their far more illustrious visitors.

This one stat is illuminating: Real Madrid conceded 10 shots vs Leganes, more than in any other first half of a La Liga game this season. As good as he is going forward, Danilo is a disaster waiting to happen on the right, Marcelo lapsed into some dangerous old habits (dawdling on the ball, playing too many risky back-passes), Nacho is still not entirely convincing and for all his immense goal-scoring, Sergio Ramos was, is, and always will be a walking red card waiting to happen.

Zidane needs to focus on his defence and especially on bridging the gap between defence and midfield that has started appearing in the recent weeks. Defend like this against the likes of Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich, and Barcelona – and what promises to be a great season can all end in tears.