Going into this past weekend's match against Real Betis there were a lot of nerves and worries about Real Madrid's recent performances, their lack of cohesion in attack, the stability of the dressing room, and of course what Los Blancos' would do to fill the giant Teutonic gap in the midfield left by the one and only Toni Kroos.
Some of the concerns and nerves surrounding Real Madrid these past few weeks have, as always, been driven by the Spanish press and Real Madrid's very reactionary and often unforgiving fanbase.
Real Madrid must always win. They can't draw, let alone lose, and because of the arrival of Kylian Mbappé they are expected to win by large often insulting margins. But the reality has been far from that, so the press, Real Madrid fans, and anti-Madrid fans had their knives out.
Even though Real Madrid still hadn't lost a game, two draws and one win were far from ideal and the match against Real Betis was given monumental importance, even if it was only Real Madrid's 4th game of the season.
Real Madrid looked better on the pitch. They are still far from a finished product but Ceballos brought an added stability to the midfield that was absent previously. And Fede Valverde, Kroos' heir apparent in both number and responsibility, took it upon himself to drive Real Madrid forward with his never ending gas tank, pace, and grit. Mbappé, Vinicius, and Rodrygo seemed to be much more cohesive...and the Frenchman finally got not one but two goals to open his LaLiga tally. The first goal by Mbappe was the product of a diagonal Rodrygo run and a masterful back heel pass from Valverde. Mbappé's second goal came from the penalty spot after Vinicius was taken down in the box. And instead of taking on the responsibility himself Vinicius gave the chance to Mbappé.
He scored and all was right in the Kingdom of Real Madrid once again...at least for now.
This victory won't calm the sharks that are currently circling Real Madrid waiting to tear them apart with criticism should they slip up. But with the team on a short hiatus due to the international break, this victory provided the right amount of chum to calm the feeding frenzy for a bit.
All we can do now is wait and see what will happen once Los Blancos return from the international break. But it seems like Real Madrid is slowly but surely finding their form. And when they do...the goals will continue to come.
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