While many are focusing on Real Madrid’s emphatic 5-1 victory over RB Salzburg on Wednesday night in the Champions League, Raul Fuentes, speaking on Radio Marca, touched on a sensitive point after the match that could significantly impact the rest of the club’s campaign.
Expected to deliver in the seventh matchday of the Champions League group stage against Austria’s RB Salzburg, Carlo Ancelotti and his men did not disappoint. After three defeats leading up to the encounter, Real Madrid comfortably sealed their fourth win in the competition with a commanding 5-1 triumph. Following the match, the players celebrated this impressive victory, which coincided with Vinicius Junior making history by surpassing 100 career goals thanks to his brace. However, in Spain, some regrets have emerged from the match, which many feel should have ended in a much better manner.
Real Madrid’s monumental error in conceding
This is the sentiment expressed by several analysts of the Madrid club on Radio Marca. While some highlighted the attacking prowess displayed by Carlo Ancelotti’s men, Raul Fuentes instead emphasised the importance of goal difference in the final standings after next Wednesday’s eighth and final group-stage matchday. “Even though it was a good attacking performance, today Real Madrid made a mistake. In my opinion, they should have scored even more goals. Goals are crucial and could help you overtake Bayern and Dortmund in the standings,” the journalist stated on Marca.
Though few within the club are openly discussing it, the goal conceded in the closing minutes against Salzburg could have a major impact on the standings. Currently sitting 16th in the group stage rankings, Real Madrid has positioned itself for a direct qualification to the Round of 16. Thanks to defeats suffered by Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund, Carlo Ancelotti’s team still has a 2.9% chance of avoiding the play-offs, which could prove highly dangerous given the potential opponents.
Trailing Dortmund by three goals in goal difference and Bayern by one, the Madrid side had the chance to close the gap by not conceding, even if they couldn’t score more than the five they managed. It must be said that for next Wednesday’s eighth and final matchday, Real Madrid will need to score heavily against Brest in France and hope for slip-ups by the other clubs vying for a top-eight spot. As mentioned earlier, there are three possible scenarios for Madrid to avoid the Champions League play-offs, scheduled for february.
“We will have no problem scoring goals”
Speaking at the post-match press conference after the RB Salzburg game, Carlo Ancelotti refused to dwell on the goal conceded in the 85th minute. “I’m trying to improve the team’s defensive work because that’s the key to success. They need to be as compact as possible, whether in a deep or high block, or under high or low pressure. It’s an issue of focus, sacrifice, and commitment. Teams that defend well win,” he declared to journalists at the Santiago BernabĂ©u on Wednesday after the 5-1 thrashing.
Confident that his players have everything they need to score plenty of goals, thanks to their in-form attackers, the 65-year-old coach preferred to highlight the positive aspects of the victory against the Austrians. “We have to play the final match and assess where we stand. There’s not much to think about. We need to try to beat Brest in the last game and see where we end up in the standings. It will be very difficult to finish in the top eight… At the top, everyone is well-connected, but with these players, we’ll have no trouble scoring goals,” he concluded.
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