Real Madrid failed to take three points in their third consecutive La Liga game last night as they scrambled to just a 1-1 draw against Girona at Estadi Montilivi.
The men in white were lacklustre at best, and far from inspired as they failed to make use of any of their attacking openings to score from open play. Their only goal, in fact, came from a penalty.
Needless to say, the result is only representative of the team’s form which has been poor over the past month and shows no signs of improving.
Speaking on COPE (h/t Mundo Deportivo), former Valencia and Real Madrid goalkeeper Santi Canizares lashed out at Los Blancos’ shortcomings as he saw them and emphasised how their entire style of play must change.
"You can’t just play at the feet all the time, you have to move around a lot more, you have to create more space, you have to make walls, you have to create first-touch play."
He then explained why it is critical to have more variety and dynamism in attack, especially for a club of Real Madrid’s calibre.
"Because everyone knows how to defend. Defending is the easiest thing to do. You have to position yourself well, be alert, anticipate."
"If everyone puts their mind to it, it’s the easiest thing to do. And that can’t be undone with a simple ‘I want it here at my feet’," he added.
Lashing out an attack on his former team’s performances and a clear dip in quality, the former goalkeeper said,
"I think Real Madrid’s play in general is very poor and some players are unrecognisable at the moment."
Finally, he named the one player he felt was seriously underperforming for Los Blancos, saying,
"The sadness and irrelevance with which Valverde plays is unrecognisable."