Real Madrid vs Espanyol; 5 Talking Points

#3. Real Madrid still look shaky defensively

Ramos and Co. have rarely looked fully comfortable this season

Real Madrid started the season impressively enough with convincing wins in both the UEFA Super Cup (against Manchester United) and the Spanish Super Copa (against Barcelona) and have started their Champions League campaign like they ended but they are somehow, rather strangely still finding their feet in La Liga. Still 7 points behind arch-rivals Barcelona, they have some catching up to do, but they can't quite do any of that if the one issue that has been with them since August simply doesn't go away - the shakiness of their defence.

Espanyol rarely threatened Real Madrid in the first half, but on the one occasion they did sloppiness on the part of Raphael Varane allowed Leo Baptistao a shot at goal that took the athleticism of Keylor Navas and the robustness of the Bernabeu goalframe to stop... in the second half, Real Madrid looked shaky several times (Ramos, Kroos, and Casemiro all guilty of loose passes in dangerous areas) and looked like they would concede any moment anytime before Isco scored his second to provide a measure of comfort to the team as a whole.

It was like a time-travel portal had opened up and Madridistas were suddenly transported to an era when Madrid could score and concede just about anytime, from anywhere, all game long. Zidane's Madrid have rarely looked so shaky before and it must be concerning for the Frenchman that they still haven't addressed this major issue come October.