The Hidden Side of Real Madrid

11/11/2025 07:35:00 GoalGuru

The goalless draw against their neighbors Rayo Vallecano last weekend marked the second consecutive match where coach Xabi Alonso's stars failed to score.

Kylian Mbappe has scored 18 goals for the team after 16 games this season, and Real Madrid is the second highest-scoring team in La Liga with 26 goals after 12 matches. But when the French striker goes scoreless, no one replaces him in Real’s frontline.

Real Without Goals

Perhaps, fundamentally, the Galacticos are not in crisis, but clearly something unusual is happening. According to Opta statistics, between the match against Liverpool and the away game in southern Madrid, the 43-year-old coach’s team managed only 7 shots on target across both matches. Mbappe was almost invisible throughout the entire game.

At Vallecas stadium, Real’s attacking stars generated an expected goals (xG) of just 0.82, lower than their neighbors’ 1.19. Alonso’s players took 21 shots, but only 5 were on target, creating one big chance compared to Vallecano’s two, resulting in a shot accuracy rate of just 23.8%. The French striker did not have a single shot on target. This explains why they ended up sharing a 0-0 draw with their opponents.

After the match, the Real-friendly newspaper Marca made a comparison: Anfield measures 101x68 meters, while Vallecas is 100x66.7 meters. This is not to excuse the world-class stars’ failure to break down the home team’s defense but rather to explain the club’s operational challenges. They are struggling on difficult grounds.

Marca also criticized Real Madrid’s poor performance: Vallecano had only 65 hours of rest, while Real had 113 hours before arriving at Vallecas. In the first half, the Galacticos played at a sluggish pace, and when they finally found their rhythm and the game turned chaotic, they couldn’t find a way through. However, Alonso denied a lack of aggression. It might actually reflect a decline in playing quality, focus, and the 43-year-old coach’s precision in personnel usage.

Real Madrid endured two consecutive matches without scoring any goals

The Hidden Side of Real

So far, compared to the French striker’s goal tally, Vinicius (the top scorer against Vallecano) has only scored 5 goals. Guler and Bellingham each have 3 goals, Brahim and Mastantuono have scored once each, not counting defenders like Militao or Carreras.

“We lack the ability to create more chances on counterattacks,” Alonso emphasized regarding their transitional play. This was something they executed very well when defeating Barcelona in El Clásico three weeks ago.

At Vallecas, as well as at Anfield, Bellingham, Vinicius, and Mbappe all played the full 90 minutes. Together, they managed only 3 shots on target across both games, a poor figure. The Brazilian, since openly challenging Alonso’s authority before the Barcelona match, once again played until the final whistle.

Vinicius, as in every match, tried to prove his ability and showed why he was angry when substituted, producing more effort than actual damage: 10 dribbles with only 4 successes. Against Liverpool’s Conor Bradley, number 7 didn’t complete a single successful dribble, just like Mbappe who completely disappeared in that game. Another issue is Alonso has no one truly capable of making a difference on the bench. Rodrygo, the best among them, again performed poorly. He touched the ball only 4 times in 17 minutes on the pitch, failing to connect or make any significant impact.

“We have other forwards on the field who can also create danger,” Alonso explained his decision not to use Gonzalo Garcia or Endrick in the draw against Vallecano. This might not only be an issue of effectiveness but also relates to the Basque coach’s personnel choices and tactical system.

Nhat Minh

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