Three observations from Real Madrid’s 3-1 win vs Pachuca

Real Madrid beat Pachuca 3-1 to get Xabi Alonso his first win as their manager in Charlotte on Sunday night. Goals from Jude Bellingham, Arda Guler and Fede Valverde helped see out the win after a rocky start due to Raul Asencio’s red card.

Real Madrid are now top of their standings, and face Salzburg in the third and final group match.

Here are three observations from the win:

Raul Asencio’s mistakes

Raul Asencio has had a terrible start to the Club World Cup. Conceding a penalty in the first match, and a red card in the second, Asencio has only played 52 minutes combined in this Club World Cup despite starting both games. There is no way to sugarcoat it, these are officially the worst Asencio minutes we have seen since he got promoted to the first team.

It is also a little premature to simply jump on the bandwagon that Asencio is suddenly ‘not good enough’. In these last two games? Yes, he has been awful, but we are talking about a player who was Real Madrid’s best defender for 45 games last season. Could that have been a fluke, then? Maybe. But the chances of him just having a rough slump are more realistic than Asencio acting like a fluke artist for 45 consecutive games.

That is not to say there weren’t things that he could improve on in those games. Asencio has had a few hot-headed moments where he made bad decisions. But, A) he is young, and, B) there is not a single player in the history of football who has never had a bad run. Asking for him to be benched, sold or simply touted not good enough for Real Madrid based on two games is a bit reactionary.

This is coming from a person who used to watch and grab my hair in anger because of some of his mistakes at Castilla. I was not his biggest fan, and I was among those most sceptical of his promotion, but he proved me wrong. However, my opinion on him did not change based on two good performances, and it will not revert to where it was before due to two bad ones. Every player has a slump. Let’s see.

Dean Huijsen fits like a glove

Time to talk about the other centre-back.

Huijsen, across these two games, has been Real Madrid’s best player. The way the new signing has carried himself in his first two games at the club deserves more praise than what is being given so far.

Huijsen has become a big, big part of Real Madrid’s build-up in just two games. He had the most touches and passes for any Real Madrid player in both games. And it is not just passing. It is the way he is passing. The passing sequences became alive because of his urgency to get the ball moving. The comfort with which he moves the ball. So composed. The way space opens up for Real Madrid with his passes, or his carries into the midfield, was a breath of fresh air.

In Real Madrid’s third goal, his through ball to Vinicius Jr was a huge part of why Real Madrid were able to score. Huijsen, so far in the Club World Cup, has the most line-breaking passes (31) and those in the final third (11) for any Real Madrid player.

It is not just his passing, either. Huijsen has played like Real Madrid’s best defender, too. He is quick to act. He knows when to push and when to stay behind. There is a lot of maturity in Huijsen — astounding for a guy his age.

It seems like he is cut from the same cloth as Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos. Not in the sense that he is as good a passer as Kroos or as good in general as Bellingham, but more so in the way he has carried himself in his first two games as a Real Madrid player. He fits like a glove. It seems like Huijsen has been at Real Madrid for a long time. That is not the feeling that people get from most new players. It is tough to walk into Real Madrid’s starting XI and play the way Huijsen is playing.

There are a lot more difficult tests to follow, so I will try not to get ahead of myself, but so far, so good for Huijsen at Real Madrid.

Team football...

No shade at Carlo Ancelotti, but Real Madrid rarely played team football last season. In their game against Pachuca, we saw glimpses of what this team could become in the future. There is a long, long way to go, and while it is easy to get carried away, it is a slow process.

However, there were encouraging signs. Real Madrid moved better as a collective than they have in a while.

In all of Real Madrid’s goals, they looked more like a team than before. It was not Vinicius Jr, Kylian Mbappe or Jude Bellingham trying to create something out of nothing — they looked like a team set up to succeed, and that is what they were doing.

Real Madrid’s first goal was a great example. The ball moved around at a pace Los Blancos wanted, slow to start. There was a lot of off-ball movement from Fran and Gonzalo Garcia, which made it all happen. Fran’s run, and Gonzalo dropping deep to get the ball to his namesake — small details, but encouraging to see Real Madrid improve quickly in this regard.

Second goal, too. Vinicius Jr switches the ball to an open Trent Alexander-Arnold. Great low cross to Gonzalo, who plays it on to Guler with his first touch. It is the little things that matter so much in the long run.

There are things that Los Blancos need to fix. Real Madrid did not play at their best before the goal. They did not particularly start the second half all that well. There were things that Real Madrid had to control better, but they will be fixed in due course. Real Madrid are getting better after every game, and that is the most important thing.

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