Real Betis 1-1 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

“Get up!” gestures a frustrated Cristiano Ronaldo as his former Real Madrid teammate Antonio Adan saves his shotIt could be safe to say that Real Madrid supporters should get used to a result like this as this season shapes up to be yet another trial and error season. With a fresh new face in Zinedine Zidane having taken over the team after a not-so-pleasant campaign under Rafa Benitez, things could have only become better.But, here we are: The first away match without Gareth Bale, who is clearly standing out as Madrid's most important player at the moment, and the team drops points. It's not always when Madrid fail to do that: dropping points when their rivals have.Los Blancos were up against a side who were goalless in the previous 638 minutes of competitive action. But, they had no trouble scoring one past Keylor Navas as Alvaro Cejudo did it with a magnificent volley into the top left corner in the 7th minute of the match. Karim Benzema would eventually go on to score an equaliser in the 71st minute. A good strike, after a pass from James Rodriguez who was offside. It looked like a poor decision-making from the linesman - not unusual given the poor refereeing standards maintained by officials this season. Here are the major talking points from the match.

#1 Zidane makes mistake of dropping Dani Carvajal

"Carvajal came on in the second half and he had no physical problems.

“Where is Carvajal?!” That's the question everyone had in their mind when the team line-ups were announced. Why? Here’s a little recap.

Here you have Danilo, a versatile wingback who looks more like a shadow from his Porto days. He is more attacking, and hence mostly out of position. He has been average throughout the season – flat crosses, poor positioning. Not much of an upgrade from Alvaro Arbeloa whose name is barely whispered these days.

And, now you have Dani Carvajal on the other hand. A youth product, a consistent performer and a solid defender who can attack and open channels for the wingers.

Now, I understand squad rotation policies with perhaps Zidane wanting to try new things, rest Carvajal who just came back from a long injury. But it proved to be a very costly experiment if anything.

With Gareth Bale out injured, James Rodriguez was brought back into the squad to fill in Bale’s boots. Bale, a hard worker, made things easy for the right-back as the Welshman would generally track back to win the ball. Without him, the right flank of the pitch was left vulnerable with Rodriguez who looked uncomfortable in the first half and Danilo who put up another disappointing performance.

Carvajal would eventually replace Danilo in the 65th minute with Benzema scoring the equaliser five minutes later. Coincidence? I think not.

"Carvajal came on in the second half and he had no physical problems,” he later clarified in the post-match conference that dropping him was a tactical decision.“Danilo started and nothing more. We have a very large squad.

“As for James, I told him that he had to move inside and on the wing. I am very happy with his performance.”

Playing Carvajal ahead of Danilo until Bale’s return would definitely be the safest bet for Zidane who has bigger problems to address. Full points for giving Danilo his chance.

#2 Time to address the Cristiano Ronaldo problem?

Not the best around anymore?

The decline of the Cristiano Ronaldo era seems to be a real as it was yet another mediocre night for the Portuguese forward. He can hardly dribble past opponents now. He isn’t adding much to the build-up play. He is missing chances that he would have scored with a blindfold last year. It is just not the same Ronaldo that we are used to seeing.

It was already well established that Gareth Bale would now be the first name on the team-sheet for Real Madrid instead of Ronaldo this season, and the Welshman proved his mettle. Ronaldo, on the other hand, is now proving to be more like a dead weight for the team to carry around, which is pretty unexpected since he was the team's core player. The team was built around him.

Ronaldo’s statistics against Real Betis: 4 shots, 1 on target, 64% pass accuracy, 0 key passes, 1 successful dribble and around 20 fewer touches than Betis goalkeeper Antonio Adan.

Is he Real Madrid's biggest problem? I wouldn't go too far to say that. But, addressing this issue should definitely be on Zidane's 'To-Do' list. If Ronaldo is to leave the club soon, they need to prepare for that. But, knowing the kind of expectations Ronaldo usually sets for himself, don't be surprised if this just proves to be a rough patch for the highest ever goalscorer in the history of this club.

#3 The Antonio Adan show

An exceptional display from Antonio Adan

Antonio Adan pulled off an ‘Alvaro Morata’ against Real Madrid. As if Morata’s goal for Juventus wasn’t bitter enough for the fans to digest, Adan, another Real Madrid youth academy product, proved his mettle against his former team at the time when they would have least wanted.

Here’s a fact that Madrid would not be very proud about: Adan was the only Real Madrid academy product who started the game. To ring some bells, Adan is the same keeper who came into the spotlight after a gutted Jose Mourinho had decided against fielding an out-of-form Iker Casillas and preferred the current Betis custodian instead.

The controversy surrounding a rift between Mourinho and Casillas didn’t help Adan’s case who couldn’t cement his position as the first-choice keeper, managing only a handful of starts leading up to his contract termination.

But, that was then. With 7 solid saves throughout the 90 minutes of the match, Real Betis had Adan to thank for the draw.

#4 Real Madrid\'s midfield shines

Isco (left) and Luka Modric (right) were tireless in the midfield

Real Madrid’s midfield has been under heavy scrutiny this season. It started when several images went viral on the internet with the question: “Where’s the Real Madrid midfield?” The images would see a huge gap left in central midfield with all the midfielders out of their formal position. That was a mere portrayal of how unreliable the Madrid midfield has been this season, adding to the never ending defensive woes of the club.

Now, the problem might still exist in the middle for Real Madrid with many suggesting that a ball winner like Casemiro is still needed in a 3-man midfield line where the other two players are pure playmakers. This is where Toni Kroos would generally struggle because he isn’t simply meant to play that role. However, it was different against Betis.

The combination of Isco, Luka Modric and Kroos looked like a vibrant one with the midfield engine of Isco and Modric tirelessly running around. The Croatian midfielder alone had made a total of 19 interceptions throughout the match.

The jury is still out on whether or not if this is the right combination for Real Madrid. With midfielders like Modric, James, Kroos, Isco, Camerio and Kovavic at his disposal, Zidane could create a spectacle together.

#5 Real Betis end their goal drought

Real Betis took the lead after 7 minutes with a stunning strike from Cejudo

Coming into the match, Real Betis were goalless in the last 8 matches and winless in the last 10. Hence, an upset was nowhere in the cards and it was expected to be another walk in the park for Zinedine Zidane and his side who had scored 10 goals in their last two games against Sporting Gijon and Deportivo La Coruna.

But, as they say, it’s all about the right spirit, and they left Madrid hanging behind with an early strike from Alvaro Cejudo, bringing their goalless drought to an end in style.

Álvaro Cejudo: Is the first Real Betis player to score a goal in 638 minutes of competitive action

— WhoScored.com (@WhoScored) January 24, 2016

Real Madrid should perhaps consider them lucky to have even secured a single point, considering Benzema’s goal should have ideally been rulled offside.