Monday 24 October 2016 14:17, UK
In his latest column, Sky Sports' Spanish expert Guillem Balague discusses doubts around Zinedine Zidane, Sevilla's triumphs under Jorge Sampaoli and how Barcelona are opting for versatility.
Real Madrid just stumbled over the line against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday through Alvaro Morata's late goal.
It's a win, but the problem with Real is that they have a coach that doesn't inspire them to do a lot of work without the ball, doesn't inspire them to be aggressive and doesn't inspire them to do such an important part of the game, which is to recover possession in key parts of the pitch.
Real Madrid, even at the Bernabeu, let the opposition play, and it's more about pouncing when the opposition lose it, rather than Real trying to recover it.
That's something they have to improve on, but I'm not sure Zinedine Zidane can inspire them that way.
Real had two things that helped them get the late win against Bilbao: One, belief in themselves, especially the 'epic' of the last 10 minutes in games at the Bernabeu, which is something that is historical, and two, quality of players. Morata came on with Lucas Vazquez and changed the game, and I think they deserve more time than they are getting.
In that you have to give credit to Zidane. With Lucas, he went from 4-3-3 to 4-4-2, Gareth Bale switched wings - which is where the goal came from - and Athletic felt obliged to defend deeper, causing a mistake.
I would play Morata, who scored a late winner, over Benzema, who is taking a while to get to his best physical form. I know you need game time to get to your top form, but meanwhile, you have a guy in Morata who is at the top of his game - ambitious, hungry to get the ball, hungry to attack the spaces.
I think he could replace either Ronaldo and Benzema in the line-up, and by that I mean he could come in for Ronaldo and Ronaldo come on later, and the same for Benzema.
Ronaldo has been booed a few times at the Bernabeu and he doesn't understand why. In the last minute he was booed for missing a one-on-one when the crowd believed he should have laid the ball off for Isco.
He has always been individualistic, but you forgive him if he scores goals, which he hasn't been doing of late. And, as followers of this column know, the relationship between the Real Madrid fans and Ronaldo has always been a bit of a roller-coaster.
Injuries restricting Luis Enrique
With Gerard Pique and Jordi Alba injured, and now Andres Iniesta, it's making it more difficult for Barcelona to play how they want to.
To add to that, I feel Luis Enrique is preferring to go to the versatility of the system, instead of the essence. So, you see a team who plays in different formations, but not a team that keeps some of the things that made them so difficult to beat, especially the control of the game.
They lost the control against Valencia in 10 minutes, and conceded two goals, but came back to win 3-2. It will not always happen.
Iniesta can help with more control, but of course he is injured, and Ivan Rakitic is not that kind of player. Neither are Arda Turan or Andre Gomes or Denis Suarez, who could be possible replacements to Iniesta for the rest of the year.
A lot depends on the front three, who have scored nine of the last 11 goals. It feels like Barcelona are losing layers, even though tactically they can play in different formations. It's a complex situation that we will explore in future columns.
Sevilla playing without fear
Sevilla moved up to second in La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
It's about style, physical presence, flexibility and a change of mentality. That's what Jorge Sampaoli has brought to the side.
Previous manager Unai Emery was accused of making conservative substitutions and holding onto the result, but Sampaoli is telling the players not to be scared, to go for the win. They used to be more focused on not conceding, especially in away games, but now they have enough quality players to be more ambitious.
The words 'don't be scared' are the most used in training and chats with Sampaoli. He's managed to change the thinking and philosophy at Sevilla, and a clear example of that is Steven N'Zonzi.
Leicester wanted him almost as a holding midfielder, but he's much more than that, and he's shown it. Yes, he can do the defending, but he can go forward as well, he can pass, and he can get into the box.
There's a lot of work without the ball too. Sevilla run a lot; Sampaoli and Juan Manuel Lillo, the assistant, always believed you could demand more from players, and they're doing exactly that.
But is is all about Sampaoli? In fact, with the departure of Unai, Sevilla decided to take a step forward and change the players that were coming to the team with 11 new faces, mostly offensive.
Then they needed to bring a coach in that could make them work together, hence why Sampaoli was chosen. So, the foundations were put by the club, and Sampaoli is helping Sevilla go where the club has decided to go.
What do Sevilla need to be title challengers/progress in the champions league? - Jack (@RamboMorgan)
Sevilla have evolved their mentality. This is something that took Atletico Madrid four or five years; two or three to make them very competitive, and then Diego Simeone decided this season to be more of a threat offensively.
Sevilla have been competitive for a long while too, but the transformation to be more offensive and more towards the Sampaoli idea has happened quite quickly. They still have a long way to go, but they look good in terms of rotations, everybody raising their level, consistency and winning when they don't play well.
The problem is it is a long season. They will finish top four, I'm sure of that, and I think they could progress in the Champions League if they get a favourable draw, but I can see Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico as top three.
What has Samir Nasri brought to Sevilla? Can they go all the way & win La Liga? - Peter Coppock (@coppockp)
Samir Nasri has also been brilliant. He is enjoying himself; his idea was to go to Sevilla to see if he can get to the Man City level and then come back to the Etihad, but he is also there to rekindle his love for the game, and he is doing that.
Nasri has brought quality in passing, and sometimes players of that calibre how competitive they can be, how high their standards are, and I think he's brought that to the side as well.
Also, he carries a general humbleness that has made everybody happy. He's enjoying his football, but again, let's see if it can continue for a full season, because they are very, very long.
We haven't seen the very best of Sevilla. They weren't great against Leganes, they were quite good against Zagreb, and they were brilliant in the second half against Atletico, and yet they are getting the points.
Ronaldo's reaction to the Morata goal? - Eoin Walker (@eoin_walker)
I'm convinced that he's not asking for Morata to be offside. He's demanding the attention of the linesman so that he gets the right assessment, which in the eyes of Ronaldo is: "Allow the goal!"
It's stupid to think anything else of somebody so competitive.
What do you think about the referees in La Liga? - Deniz Andres (@Koezo123)
This may sound controversial, as you can always find mistakes by referees of any nationality, but for me, technically and physically, they are, and are considered so by UEFA, some of the best referees in Europe.
The standards are high. There's a lot of pressure, just like in other leagues, but my impression is that they make less mistakes than in other top leagues.
Their positioning, how they move from the domestic league to the Champions League where they have to referee very different, their physical shape, the control of the game - they are very good at all of these things. They're very professional.
A lot of people in Spain make a lot of stories about referees because they make good print, but I believe they have high quality.
