Sergio Ramos’ Form a Big Worry Even as Real Madrid’s Defence Improves

Real Madrid got their 2016/17 La Liga season up and running on Sunday night, and it took them less than 100 seconds to show they mean business when Gareth Bale scored the early opener in an eventual 3-0 win over Real Sociedad.

Bale’s two goals in the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema might steal most of the headlines, but Zinedine Zidane deserves credit for the way in which he set his team up at Anoeta, a tough place to travel to for most of the big sides and where Real needed a late winner at the back end of last season.

Even without two of their best attackers, Real’s team had enough offensive talent to beat most sides, but the balance between attack and defence was impressive to witness from the reigning Champions League holders—with the exception of centre-back and captain Sergio Ramos, who continues to give reason for concern over his individual form.

Setup

Zidane’s lineup for the game at Anoeta was ostensibly a 4-3-3, but it was clear from the opening stages of the game that the alignment would be very different from last season’s variation of that system, where the front three were exactly that—forwards, high upfield and not overly inclined to close out gaps between the lines.

Pre-season, however, has seen an evolution of the roles performed by that line, particularly with Ronaldo’s absence.

The wide men are predominantly operating as midfielders without the ball, continually giving Real a flat four across the middle of the park, allowing Casemiro to close out gaps between the lines and track runners from deep. It’s a 4-1-4-1, giving the team a great base to frustrate opponents and, later, a base from which to build attacks.

Casemiro has already proved his worth several times over in the last 12 months, with his powers of recovery and natural athleticism meaning he can scurry across to the flanks when the full-backs are caught upfield, drop in between the centre-backs when required and travel with the ball into midfield.

With the midfield line well-organised and working hard to stay in shape out of possession, Real Madrid operated very much as a team in their season opener.

The wide players, Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio, were key in their determination to drop back …

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