Real Madrid's Defeat to Shakhtar Donetsk Lays Squad Issues Bare
Raucous cheers echoed around Real Madrid's barren Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano as the third goal of the game rolled into the net. Yet, these shouts originated from Shakhtar Donetsk's bench after the visitors took a 3-0 half-time lead.
Not only was Shakhtar's early advantage utterly deserved, but the Ukrainian champions were dismantling Madrid with a squad stripped of 13 first-team players after injuries and a Covid-19 outbreak combined to form an environment their coach described pre-game as a 'nightmare'.
After 45 minutes Shakhtar were in dreamland and justifiably held on to claim a famous 3-2 Champions League victory despite Madrid's second half fightback. Delving deep into the managerial book of tricks, Zinedine Zidane attempted to shift focus by shouldering the blame for Wednesday night's defeat.
However, the members of his squad who didn't start - and those that replaced them in their absence - played an eye-opening role in the dismal outcome and highlighted Madrid's worrying reliance upon a clutch of key figures.
Between the cheers erupting from Shakhtar's bench, a piercing whistle from the stands could be heard. Sergio Ramos, bound to the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury on the weekend, looked on as his defensive colleagues were bamboozled by Shakhtar's tidy and patient passing patterns.
Ramos' sonic assault from the stands was even more prevalent in Madrid's last Champions League outing, another defeat, on that occasion away to Manchester City. In fact, Madrid have lost seven of the previous eight Champions League matches without their talismanic captain.
Madrid's scarcely used Brazil international Éder Militão took his skipper's place on Wednesday. The 22-year-old was dragged from pillar to post, endlessly caught too far forward or trailing behind the rest of the defensive line. It was a night to forget for most at Madrid but Militão in particular.
Yet, not only does Ramos' absence obviously strip the team of his qualities - in both boxes - it appears to unsettle the formerly unflappable Raphaël Varane. The fleet-footed French World Cup winner endured arguably his worst performance in a Real Madrid shirt as he was at fault for both goals in last season's away leg at City. Madrid in midweek was the setting for another uncharacteristically slack display.
Zidane couldn't call upon Ramos in a desperate bid to rectify things at half-time, but he did turn to another key performer, Karim Benzema.
Since August 2018 - the summer which marked Cristiano Ronaldo's departure to Juventus - no Real Madrid player has scored more than nine non-penalty goals in La Liga apart from Benzema. He has 35. Luka Jovic - his replacement on Wednesday - has two.
At one time, the fleeting opportunities Jovic was given in a Madrid shirt felt like a golden chance to prove himself. Now each minute Zidane sends him out on the field for drags by as he continues to look increasingly out of his depth.
In one of the typically vindictive online polls the Spanish publication Marca distributes, Jovic placed second for players the fans would have whistled (unlike Ramos, with a negative menace) against Shakhtar had they been allowed to attend. Madrid's Brazilian veteran Marcelo topped that particular poll.
The 25-year-old French left-back Ferland Mendy should have firmly supplanted his senior teammate after an impressive maiden campaign in the capital. Despite Zidane's commitment to the gaggle of experienced players at the core of Madrid's trio of European titles between 2016 and 2018, Marcelo's involvement was gradually being reduced.
However, in the absence of the near ever-present Dani Carvajal - an understated but sizeable blow - Zidane was forced to shunt Mendy out to the right and turn to Marcelo once more.
Marcelo's third appearance of the season brought his and Madrid's second defeat in the space of four days after another limp display at home to a club they were expected to swat aside.
Newly promoted Cádiz earned their first ever victory away to Real Madrid on Saturday after blitzing the hosts with another first half flurry. Unlike Shakhtar, Cádiz only netted the one goal, but they too outplayed their illustrious opponents, as Zidane admitted post-match: “If they had got two or three more, we couldn’t haven’t said anything.”
In that game Ramos partnered Varane and Benzema led the line. However, Casemiro, the side's defensive linchpin, and Mendy were missing for Saturday's porous first half.
Zidane's side ground their way to the title last season based on an uncharacteristically resolute defence and a largely unchanged core of players through the spine of the side. Madrid had six players who each featured in more than 80% of the available league minutes last term: goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Ramos, Varane, Carvajal, Casemiro and Benzema.
That sextet have only been used once from the start so far this season - a win away to Manuel Pellegrini's Real Betis. Carvajal's injury ensures that it won't be seen again until the end of the calendar year. As one of just three Champions League sides who didn't spend any money this summer, Madrid's reliance upon this core has hardly been alleviated.
In the era of the 'superclub', two defeats amounts to a crisis and with, in theory, the hardest game of the season on the horizon - away to Barcelona - three losses on the spin would, ridiculously, be a test of most managers' longevity at Real Madrid.
Even with the good will Zidane has amassed as both player and manager, questions may still be tentatively posed. Yet, rather than focussing on two surprising defeats, why do a club as resplendent with riches as Real lack a healthy number of reliable replacements?