UEFA Champions League 2018/19: Real Madrid vs Viktoria Plzen

This Real Madrid match analysis was first featured on our networks Real Madrid site, realmadridanalysis.com.

Following defeat to CSKA Moscow in the Champions League and defeats to Levante and Alaves in La Liga, Julen Lopetegui and Real Madrid really had very little room for error up against Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night. Their narrow 2-1 win saw them ease through, but it was far from the comfortable victory which fans were hoping would provide a confidence boost ahead of El Clasico on Sunday. Instead, players were booed and whistled off of the field after yet another dismal performance, only this time it was just enough to get them their first win in over a month. Here, our tactical analysis will use statistics to identify what key points Real Madrid can take from the game, both for the positive and the negative, and what it could mean for Julen Lopeteguis future.

There was no shape to Real Madrid

Amid so much speculation regarding the future of Julen Lopetegui, it was always likely that it would be a strange night at the Bernabeu on Tuesday. What was most baffling of all was the system that Los Blancos deployed, particularly after substitutions. At the start, it appeared to be a fairly clear 4-4-2 with a diamond in midfield, but as the game went on and substitutions were introduced, the team lost its shape entirely.

The first change threw that system out of the window, with Fede Valverde sticking rigidly to the left flank and leaving Luka Modric to cover the right in a much more narrow shape. With Lucas Vazquez still bombing forwards, it left huge gaps on the right which the Czech side gleefully exploited repeatedly, with their goal also originating from a move down Real Madrids right. With Gareth Bale already drifting wide but not deep, Marco Asensio was a direct replacement, whilst Mariano Diazs introduction for Karim Benzema did the same.

In the latter stages, the impression for those in the stands was clear. This was a team run by the players, not the coach. As Lopetegui went mad on the touchlines, screaming at Marco Asensio and others to come more central and drop deeper, his players barely paid any attention. He may still be in the job, but if the final half an hour of this tie was anything to go by, Lopetegui is Real Madrid coach only in name.

Lucas Vazquez is not a full-back

Perhaps it was Julen Lopeteguis big gamble. Perhaps it could have ended in disaster. Having signed Alvaro Odriozola from Real Sociedad in the summer, it is dumbfounding that the coach opts to field Lucas Vazquez at right-back and out of position for the second time in four days. Against Levante, it was a desperate measure taken to add attacking threat. Against Viktoria Plzen, it was inexplicable.

Winning just two of his 11