Isco faces crossroads as Real Madrid prepare for PSG with Real Sociedad clash

Isco facing the music

… starting with Isco, whose problem seems that he has not broken transfer records (like Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale) or can play up front to replace a sub-par Karim Benzema.

Rumours persist that Zidane is intent on shipping him out this summer but the Frenchman’s leverage is slipping by the second as those five trophies in 2017 get buried by more listless performances.

Isco, while not at his best this term, is one of the few players capable of dovetailing Real’s midfield and attack and would have scored the winner off the bench against Levante if not for Giampolo Pazzini’s 89^th-minute intervention.

The 25-year-old is hamstrung by the fact that Real are tactically inflexible in a 4-3-3 as three midfielders are required to do Bale and Ronaldo’s donkey work coming in off the flanks, while the Spaniard is best deployed behind the striker.

Should Isco start against La Real it may mean that Zidane is planning on benching him for the big one. But a standout performance by Isco could force his coach into a rethink, and given that his job could well depend on beating PSG, it’s no time to be stubborn.

Centre-backs against wall

While Real’s attack has clearly been disjointed, the travails of Cristiano Ronaldo et al up front have covered up the limitations of a flimsy back-line.

Captain Sergio Ramos has been in and out of the side due to injury but his presence has done little to solidify a defence that has conceded 21 goals in as many games.

There is a clear disconnect within that back four at the moment and worryingly some of the major errors are being committed by their most experienced members.

Ramos criticised Marcelo for being too ‘static’ in the draw with Levante yet the Spaniard, as well as centre-back partner Raphael Varane, have also looked a step behind the action of late and were equally culpable last weekend.

This could all be a by-product of Real’s lack of investment over the summer – another hungry and perhaps trophy-starved player to keep the old faces on their toes.

If they can’t keep out Sociedad, or at least deliver a much-improved performance, then what hope do they have against Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe?

La Real deal
That being said, La Real represent an intriguing challenge for Los Blancos. They have won just two of their last six league matches and will arrive at the Bernabeu without a revitalised Adnan Januzaj because of injury.

They do however still possess an abundance of attacking talent that should prove a worthwhile warm-up ahead of Wednesday’s fare.

In fact, Madrid have scored just four more goals than Sociedad in the league this year (45 to 41), with Barcelona and Valencia the only other teams to have found the back of the net more frequently.

Willian Jose has struck 16 times for La Real in 28 games this year and is the type of thorn-in-the-side striker that can ruffle Ramos and Varane.

Madrid may be troubled by two familiar faces as well. Asier Illarramendi, feted as Xabi Alonso’s successor for Spain once upon a time, is finally coming into his own at 27 years of age.

He struck twice in last weekend’s 5-0 demolition of Deportivo La Coruna and could well figure heavily in Spain’s World Cup campaign this summer.
Sergio Canales, another what-could-have-been talent for Real, is a possible replacement on the wing for Januzaj.