Monday 5 January 2015 15:58, UK
Real Madrid's winning run was ended in a 2-1 defeat at Valencia on Sunday night - but the reasons for this particular reverse could even be seen last season.
Carlo Ancelotti hasn't rotated much, so there are periods during the game where the level of intensity drops.
This is a team where you have a lot of players who are playing out of position, in regards to using skills different from their learned tools.
I was trying to convince Gaizka Mendieta and Scott Minto that Valencia could go for the title. It was a tongue in cheek comment, but it is possible.
You've got Toni Kroos as a defensive midfielder, while James Rodriguez and Isco have to defend a lot. And when the front three feel tired or they are not at their best, they don't defend either - as we saw against Valencia.
The hosts applied a lot of intensity and worked really hard to stop the Real Madrid midfield, and to match it in terms of running.
The gaps started appearing in the second half. Yes, they had chances at the end and they finished the game strongly, which suggested that physically they are not terribly bad - but they cannot sustain the same level for 90 minutes as they have done for the past few months.
And that is the worry for Ancelotti. Two big tests this season against Atletico Madrid and Valencia - and they lost both.
I don't think it’s a trend, but it's certainly something to consider especially in January, meaning they should start rotating really well during their games against Atletico in the cup if they go through, and El Clasico.
That's why Jese and Sami Khedira are back and will take part in games. All that will be important. Luka Modric will return in February. All in all, it will be a difficult month for Real Madrid and the best thing for them would be to get knocked out of the Copa del Rey by Atletico - but they're planning to play their second team.
Valencia played really cleverly - they were unsettled by the penalty but in the second half, they adjusted the team and that shows that Nuno Espirito Santo is not just a motivator. He is tactically very cute, and very clever. He put Paco Alcacer on Kroos which made transitions very difficult for Real Madrid. Enzo Perez became a centre-back and they went from 3-5-2 to 4-3-3. But when they attacked, he became a defensive midfielder who linked up well with the attackers and on his debut he was fantastic.
I was trying to convince Gaizka Mendieta and Scott Minto that Valencia could go for the title. It was a tongue in cheek comment, but it is possible. We are seeing a season where it's not the best Barca or the best Real. They are only four points away from the leaders. I hope they can maintain that level, perhaps they won’t be able to, but they are entertainers this season.
Got a question for Guillem? Then send it in using the feedback form below, and then look out for his answer next week...
Is Luis Enrique’s job as manager of Barcelona in trouble after Sunday's result and his curious decision to leave Messi and others on the bench? Nikki Anthony
GUILLEM SAYS: From the beginning of his tenure, I saw the problems because Luis Enrique didn’t show a clear idea of how the team is to attack. When teams defend very deeply, it is the hardest thing for the coach to attack defensive teams. Real Sociedad did two things very cleverly when they had the ball; they committed lots of players defensively and put lots of players behind the ball, while sending it long to Carlos Vela and the other forwards. So they made it very hard for Barcelona.
Obviously there is a lot of talk about Neymar and Lionel Messi being on the bench and only returning from their break on January 2 - the main worry is Luis Enrique hasn’t shown a way to attack teams. He is only happy with quick transitions and the club depends on the team winning games for security.
It’s a very unstable club at the moment, with the CAS confirmation of the transfer ban; I think there is a lot of instability inside the club which could have huge implications for the board which has become really weak. But we will discuss that in more depth on Revista this week.
But I do think the best thing will be that there are elections in the summer because then a new president will come in and a new manager will come in. But this season he will stay until the end.
Luis Suarez said: Premier League defenders are stronger, quicker, more corpulent… Those in La Liga are skilful, they complement each other & play tighter. Would you agree with this? Tom Miston
GUILLEM SAYS: I agree with Suarez - in Spain, the national team may have won a lot of titles, but what they do not have in terms of physical presence they have replaced with clever work and clever defending. The problem is, sometimes you do need the strength and we don’t have enough. It would be the perfect balance to have strong defender and clever attackers. Currently, we have a lot of defenders that like to play it out from the back.
Will the win over Barcelona be the highlight of the season for Real Sociedad fans, or is the best yet to come for David Moyes? Lee
GUILLEM SAYS: It was a game that showed that David Moyes knows how to play against Barcelona, but not a game that shows Real Sociedad can beat other teams. Because you cannot play like that all the time and there is plenty of work to be done. I don’t think they had a great game but they did enough to stop Barcelona. But look at their games against lower sides, when they have to play and they have more of the ball, they are still left wanting.
The aim this season for Moyes is to get them away from the relegation zone. Give them more good results like the one against Barca, hopefully get into the top ten and build for next season.
