Julen Lopetegui was on his knees. Into added time at the Santiago Bernabeu, he had seen a Mariano strike ruled out for offside moments earlier and then Marcelo had just blasted inches over the bar. Soon after that, it was all over.
And it could soon be all over for Lopetegui at Real Madrid, too. This 2-1 loss at home to Levante was the team’s fourth defeat in their last five matches, while the other was a draw. It is nowhere near acceptable at a club like this.
Prior to the international break, president Florentino Perez was watching from the stands as Real lost 1-0 to Alaves. The club chief chose not to act after that setback, but may think again following this latest loss. With the Clasico against Barcelona ahead next Sunday at Camp Nou, a decision needs to be made.
Should he stick or twist? Lopetegui looks all but gone after this and if he is to stay in the job, he will need to produce a tremendous turnaround in order to keep it for much longer. In short, that means beating Barcelona next Sunday.
Whether he is still there will not be up to him, however. “ Lopetegui in the abyss” was the headline in AS straight after the Levante loss, while Marca simply said: “Madrid in ruins”. What had seemed initially like a blip is now a full-blown crisis.
Lopetegui’s midfield was overrun by an impressive Levante side that packed the centre of the park with five men in this match, storming into a 2-0 lead within 13 minutes. And Madrid, low on confidence following recent results, were never able to recover.
In times gone by, they may have got away with it. Levante’s penalty for the second goal was originally given as a free-kick before the video assistant referee intervened, while Real saw an effort ruled out shortly afterwards after VAR confirmed Marco Asensio had been offside when he headed home on the line.
Both decisions were correct, though, and Madrid can have no complaints. They did at least manage to end their recent goal drought as Marcelo smashed a shot into the roof of the net in the second half, but not before setting a new and unwanted record for the longest streak in the club’s history without scoring.
After Alaves, Lopetegui had lamented the absence of injured players, but Isco and Marcelo were both back for this one, while Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema came off the bench in the second half. And at home to Levante, it should have been enough anyway.
Perez is not without fault himself, though. In the summer, Zinedine Zidane left and spoke of a lack of motivation within the squad, while Cristiano Ronaldo departed for Juventus in July and was never replaced by the president. Lopetegui has been dealt a difficult hand, but he has also run out of tricks.
“We had 34 shots and 14 on target,” he said afterwards. “In football, it’s not the best team that wins, but the one that scores the most goals. But I’m sure football will give us back what it has taken away.”
Perhaps. Although it remains to be seen if he will even be in charge for much longer, which could depend on whether Perez (below) has anyone lined up to take over in the coming days or weeks.
Asked about losing his job, Lopetegui said: “That’s the last thing on my mind. The players don’t deserve this punishment and I’m only think about recovering this team.”
His presi, however, may have other ideas and as the Clasico countdown begins, it will be all eyes on Florentino this week.