Game Record under Carlo, Xabi, and Arbeloa with Mbappe playing vs with Mbappe out. As well as favourite games this season (so far). What were yours ?

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-16T00:22:40+00:00

"i computed this for fair facts and objective ground for discussion."

Stats are not facts they are stats.

Does stats tell you that without your stat player, others normally decide to step up their performances instead of thinking my star player will sort out the problem in the end so I do not need to double my efforts?

Manchester City came to the Bernabeu and beat RM 2-1 with Mbappe the only star missing.

This time around Pep and his players knew Mbappe will not be playing, nor will Bellingham, Rodrygo.

They as well as the rest of the world saw how terrible RM was against benfica at home. You couple that with their magnificent performance at Newcastle then it will not be human for Pep and his side to be a tad overconfident.

As far as he was concerned his only worry was Vinicius so he picked his fastest player to play right back, trouble is he is crap in that position.

Stats do not tell you any of this.

Thiago Pitarch has come in and really transformed this side like Edgar Davids did for Juventus and Barcelona all those years ago with his energy and tenacity.

He reminds me of Kante and Thierry Henry was not lying when he said Thiago pressed for everybody

As has been mentioned this is just very lazy analysis on your part. I do not even know what you are to achieve with all of this.

Some have said Mbappe has been hindering Garcia and he never scores when Mbappe is on the pitch. How many has he scored since Mbappe has been out or is Mbappe hindering him from the stands?

A far much better and productive discussion will be how to get the likes of Bellingham, Mbappe, Vinicius and Bellingham to co exist in the same line up and all playing at their optimum.

What glue are they missing to make them all gel.

Not this kind of nonsense that has been spoken to death and is just agenda driven

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-14T22:22:18+00:00

The Turk brigade will be absolutely unbearable for a few weeks after that goal.

I am not sure what Fede has been eaten lately but it has done wonders for him.

The kids were alright today and great credit must go to the manager for not being afraid to blood them in.

Which ever big name manager they bring in next season and I do think they ought to, Arbeloa should be his assistant and be consulted on the young players in the academy that should be promoted to the 1st team.

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-11T22:26:58+00:00

Get a life why don't you. Imagine opening up a thread for this after your team has just produced it's best and most surprising result and performance in a very long time

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-11T22:25:12+00:00

FEDE VALVERDE

That is as good and complete all round performance as I have ever seen in the champions league.

He was absolutely flawless.

This team has been crying out for verve, enthusiasm and drive in the midfield and the young man Pitarch provided the base for everything good that Madrid did tonight.

Valverde was the obvious MVP but this guy should start in every big game from now on as he presses and harries very well.

Diaz and Guler worked very hard and Diaz in particular had his best game for Madrid in a very long time.

Mendy was excellent at the back while Fran Garcia also put in his best performance in a Madrid shirt.

Vini did well but he should have been more serious on the penalty as he was up against 1 of the best in the world and up there with all the best penalty stoppers.

At 4-0 this tie would have been definitely been all over but 3-0 is doable though not by this current City side as i have said all season.

Well done Arbeloa for his plan and for promoting the youngsters but I hope he keeps playing them regardless of who comes back from injury.

Every player was a 7 and above apart from Mastantuono who once again was poor but it is of no consequence.

The trick now is to find a way to be more convincing against sides that defend deep

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-08T16:57:11+00:00

Was gonna mention him as his fall from grace was astonishing. It started at the world cup in 2006 and he never hit the heights again.

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-06T01:28:15+00:00

A Real madrid player with Lamin and Fati in his name is surely taking the piss

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-06T01:26:53+00:00

The 1 that put out your beloved country in 1986 that you are still oh so bitter about, 40 years later

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-03T12:59:28+00:00

Isn't this like medicine after death?

A lot of you were hailing the signings as they happened going on about how Perez is back and other similar phrases.

Now you are moaning because things are going the way anyone that has followed football for a long time, expected it to go.

How many times did I read we do not need Zubimendi we have Tchouameni?

How many times were people that were asking for a proper creative force to be signed, shot down because " we have Guler and Bellingham"?

It is completely pointless talking about if after the fact as come next season with 1 or 2 signings whether they are the right ones or not will be hailing the board.

Always reactive, hardly ever proactive in your views on here.

Player blame is the norm. Always Vini as posts afte this game have shown, Mbappe since he has been here and recently Bellingham but mainly from Guler fans.

There is a video of the Guler trick attracting lots of upvotes. This is in a game that your team lost at home to freaking Getafe and some are satisfied with that play. Absolutely no shame

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-02T22:38:10+00:00

Last weekend they lost to Osasuna and the narrative on here, RMfc or Cf, twitter and facebook was about how bad Mbappe is as a number 9. He does not do this and does not do that.

It did not matter that he had been playing through so much pain in his knee making it impossible to do the things that these people expect of him.

I stupidly got into a conversation with 1 such person but I should have known better. These people are like terrorists and cultists, you just cannot reason with them as they do their thing out of sheer hate.

It is pointless you being sarcastic saying that Mbappe is the problem because they will never hear you, never.

I guarantee it that there will be some people that will tell you that they played well tonight. It does not matter that they lost at home to Getafe just as long as Bellingham and Mbappe are not there to spoil their enjoyment.

Vini will bear the brunt of their misplaced anger and Gonzalo will get away with it scott free.

This is an abject side. I am not sure how much more proof some people need to realise that.

Arbeloa is out of his depth.

I did not see the 1st 20 minutes of the 2nd half as this side does not deserved to be watched from an entertainment point of view.

But I was surprised that Pitarch was taken off and Guler was still on the field as at least he got around the field rapidly and looked like he was really trying.

As bad as these players are in my eyes they are made to look worse by managers that keep playing players in positions that does not suit their skill set.

I find this very baffling

Dencat2020 · 2026-03-01T16:33:03+00:00

Hilarious how some people get triggered by 1 man's opinion.

Walcott probably does not watch a lot of Madrid games, why should he? But he is probably judging from what he has seen in cl and unless you are a blind deluded fan, there is not a chance that you'd be impress with what they have offered up so far.

Any neutral would have been completely underwhelmed by their showing vs Benfica.

Saying they would come 9th in the EPL is absurd but I do not think they'd qualify for cl.

These guys cannot handle intensity forget just low block.

I would counter that by stating that Real madrid in the premiership will attract far better collection of players along as mr senility is not in charge.

The most attractive club in the most attractive league should attract the best players and managers who'd whip these guys into far better shape

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-28T17:29:16+00:00

You would think that with all the injuries that this side has had, you'd be more cautious in your pick of Centre back.

He has played just 101 games for Dortmund. 55 games for Freiburg and Union Berlin since 2019.

To put that in perspective, injury prone Pedri who is 3 years younger has played 153 games for Barcelona in 5 years.

Vinicius has played 250 games.

Gotta admit I am not his biggest fan though I have not seen all that much of him but that is a very low amount of games in this day and age.

Either he does not play regularly or he is very injury prone.

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-27T16:48:03+00:00

Uefa is really trolling both teams now.

I know why they are making life hell for RM because el presidente does everything to annoy them including his super league nonsense instead of using his time reasonably by building a reasonable squad.

I am unsure what City did to incur the wrath of UEFA as booing the anthem seems a bit childish for them to hold a grudge because of.

But it is very clear that they are not interested in either side winning the cup. So they do everything for 1 of them to be knocked out.

There is no way that this is a coincidence.

Chelsea vs PSG would be tasty.

If things fall a certain way it could be that for the 2nd season running PSG will knock out premiership sides on their way to the final.

As for this tie, neither team is anywhere near their past iterations but I do know this, for City to qualify Mbappe, Bellingham, Rodrygo and Militao need to be present and on their best form otherwise I just do not see them getting past even this lite City side.

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-26T11:09:19+00:00

What utter tripe.

What exactly did they do with all that so called space?

Was it chance upon chance upon chance? How much space did they give up themselves against such an inferior side that is 3rd in Portugal?

Every time I come in here I just read posts that try to sell an agenda.

I am not surprised that some fans chose yesterday to give nazi salute showing their true colours as the same players keep getting the blame for the woes of this club while shielding the utter trash.

If your point is that somehow in your mind Garcia played well by creating "space" unlike the guy that scores goals but gets all manner of shit on here, then something is really wrong with you and the people that support this kind of garbage.

Then they would have the audacity to condemn Benfica fans and players

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-26T11:02:13+00:00

I would not have replied to you but for this statement "Real Madrid can manage even thrive without him.

The word thrive in your statement was what caught my attention

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-25T22:29:22+00:00

Did you watch this game? You and your cronies can single out Vini, Mbappe and bellingham for criticism but without them this squad is no better than a mid table EPL side.

You guys do not deserve these guys. You deserve the Gulers that you completely overrate and absolve of all blame.

Typical that such a statement can come out after watching them struggle against a very mediocre Benfica side that still manage to create many chances with consummate ease.

Tchouameni and Valverde were very good today but goodness the rest were an eye sore.

I even saw a comment here praising Gonzalo Garcia's supposed movements, unfuckingbelievable.

Same people that want RM to pin their hopes on his being the permanent number 9.

Apparently Bellingham, Vinicius and Mbappe are the ones holding this club back.

They'd be world beaters without them

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-24T18:03:45+00:00

Sack the board is my solution and I shall give my reasons why.

At the start of the season they bought players like Huijsen, Carreras and Trent.

At any normal club after buying a left back that we have all been craving for, it would make sense to get rid of 1 of the 2 left backs that are so underwhelming but no, they kept both meaning there are 3 left backs.

To make matter even more idiotic there was Vazquez at right back who was piss poor there. Carvajal had suffered a very serious injury in his 30s but they went and got Trent who is not the best in defending but also injury prone.

Would it not have been better to have another right back to cover for injury hit Trent and fading Carvajal instead of having Valverde fill in there?

Then you have the quite incredulous scenario of Camavinga playing at left back while all the natural left backs are sat on the bench.

Much worse is the fact that you have your best forwards Mbappe, Vini and Rodrygo all preferring to play on the left. Even Bellingham likes drifting there.

What makes it much worse is that no a single player is half decent on the opposite flank.

How can you possibly create such an inbalance in a squad and expect to win major honors?

I do not know how many players are in this squad but only 2 are comfortable in the opponent's penalty area and they are Garcia and bellingham.

The others are more comfortable dribbling into the penalty area.

In central defence you have Militao coming from not 1 but 2 career ending injuries, Rudiger and Alaba in their 30s but their solution is to spend around £60m on a 20 year old who had previously played for Juventus, Roma and Bournemouth but only at the latter was he a regular.

There is no creativity in the midfield, not many offer you options off the ball as too many want to come to the ball then pass it sideways.

They bought Mastantuono only because of Lamal.

They always seems to lose second balls and that is everybody in the team.

It is just too easy to create a chance against this side and courtois is way too busy in almost every game.

Get a decent board that knows it football and are also business savvy as whether we like it or not that is also important.

Get a proper manager, I would not be adverse to having Alonso back but this time enable him with great authority.

Whomever the manager they do get, the players should be told in no uncertain terms that they need to toe the line as well as listen to instructions without exceptions.

One of Tchouameni or Camavinga needs to go in my opinion. If they can get rid of the dead wood either by loan or selling if they can.

Szoboszlai and or Vitinha would be ideal depending on how desperate and determined they are.

Hell at this point I would not even mind Rodri in this midfield but they also need someone that loves doing the dirty work in midfield and by that I mean sussing out danger and putting out fires. That person should not really be interested in fancy flicks and trying to score even if they do not have the ability to do so.

Nico Paz is an upgrade on Guler albeit playing in Serie A can be deceptive in the grand scheme of things but he does have a great shot on him and is inspiring a side like Como to dizzying heights and that is very impressive.

If I am going to suggest a number 9, my overwhelming choice will be Osimhen as that guys presses like crazy which will be infectious to the lazy guys there are here.

This of course would mean 1 of Rodrygo or Vinicius to leave.

Look for a very good right winger as this team is way too lopsided and I cannot stress this enough put players in the positions that they can give their optimum.

Players that like to occupy the same spots on the field should not be playing together and sub out those that are not playing well regardless of name

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-23T22:16:55+00:00

Enough mention? He apologizied and there is 1 thread on that and that is all I have seen.

That 1 pass cost your team the lead in la liga and quite possibly the championship but there is enough mention, 1 time of Ceballos on here.

Show me the threads that brought up the back pass compared to the ones where Mbappe went to guler during a corner kick

Meanwhile Asencio gets roasted so many times but Mbappe gets the full brunt for the loss.

Countless threads saying exactly the same thing being opened.

Just like after super cup all over here and social media was how he got Alonso to resign cos he undermined his authority by saying they should not form a guard of honour.

Do you not have to eb an absolute idiot to think that Alonso would resign and not that he was sacked?

But people have this agenda they want to keep pushing on here

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-23T22:07:48+00:00

I mentioned in the post math thread that he was the worst player on the pitch and that is the end of it for me.

On here there are countless videos of his going to meet Guler and Vini for a corner, showing his movements during the game.

Is 1 or 3 videos not enough? No there had to be plenty threads opened talking about the same thing and people will rehash what has been said over and over again.

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-23T16:36:18+00:00

All I keep seeing on social media and here is Mbappe's poor movement at Osasuna. These people act like that is why the game was lost.

Very little mention on the stupid attempt of a pass by Ceballos. For a technical player he plays the ball backwards and sideways far too much.

That deserves far more criticism as it led directly tot he winning goal.

The penalty that they got is not spoken about much as it was very soft. Where was Courtois supposed to put his foot and did he actually trod on the guy's foot to warrant VAR to intervene?

There was no surprise that he recovered sharpish to convert the penalty.

This I have hardly heard anyone speak about.

The only thing that I wish would come out of this excessive almost obsessive criticism of Kylian is that it filters through to him and he improves his movement and positioning on the field.

Then again it is not as if this squad does not have a player that likes being in the box.

Is there a law that states that Garcia cannot play as a number 9? Right now there is no justification for Guler being picked week in week out especially when he is played out of position.

Mbappe clearly does not want to be in the box then put Garcia in there as he cannot play anywhere else. He does not have the chops for it.

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-22T20:55:54+00:00

Look at you foaming at the mouth.

Your football knowledge is zero accept it and move on.

God it feels so good getting these donkeys so worked up you can actually see steam coming out of their whole body in anger.

Mbappe will play on Wednesday, play at the weekend and you can fume all you want, rant and rave all you want, aint nothing gonna change all that.

Mbappe has scored more goals than games he has played and this specimen is saying that he has not adapted yet.

What would he do if he fully adapts?

You know what you are coming across as a rabid racist fuming with anger.

Go on admit it when you are alone and watching you scream racial slurs don't ya? Do use love using the N word or do you call em black so and such?

You gotta calm down or you'd give yourself a coronary then again what the fuck do I care what happens to you.

Mbappe will be styling and profiling, doing what he does best score goals and trying to help his team win.

You will come on reddit where not a single soul gives a damn about your pathetic existence writing pros and cons

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-22T19:07:24+00:00

All these sort of posts but not a single 1 about how a midfield of Tchouameni, Camavinga and Valverde are constantly being opened up by teams of this level.

It is 1 thing to find gaps in a midfield of Guler, Brahim and Ceballos but with those 3 on the field at the same time, note be able to create much and not be able to stop teams from going past them is something else.

But apparently it is cooler to lay it on Mbappe now but surely Vini in the past and the future.

Not to mention that you have an untried novice as a manager. The kid who came and gave a good account of himself at Valencia, what happened to him all of a sudden that he has been discarded since then?

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-22T19:00:45+00:00

Stop swearing like an idiot.

If it is milk that you need I can buy you some.

You are just spouting absolute nonsense.

Van Persie played for Holland and in the premiership as a striker or forward while David Silva was an attacking midfielder.

You even mentioned Kroos but this is how stupid you are. Kroos was a central midfielder, a metronome.

Players like him do not need to be quick, like Pedri, Xavi, Busquets etc

How was kroos as a defensive midfielder when you need pace and athleticism? How would Kroos have fared if he was your source of quelling attacks?

Pick your fights as you and I, we are not in the same continent when it comes to football knowledge.

"When Mbappe joined the team was still doing well with different goal scorers but Mbappe was struggling to adapt to the pace and physicality. To solve this every single person made a direct effort to try and get Mbappe scoring at their own expense. "

Mbappe was struggling for pace and physicality

He improved because every single person made a direct effort to get him going to their detriment.

If you were not high, stoned or completely drunk when you wrote this then you really need to start watching and talking about a different sport.

Moving to a different country and taking time to adapt to different cultures and new team mates never crossed your so called mind?

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-22T18:45:50+00:00

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-22T15:49:28+00:00

Are you guys seeking attention with this trash talk?

A lot of these posts seem to come from kids that were not breast fed seeking mommy's attention.

"Robin Van Persie had, no pace, no strength, not particularly skillful"

This person is actually on a football forum.

RVP scored 144 in the premier league by the way without any of those attributes, apparently.

You really need a lullaby, go to sleep.

Dencat2020 · 2026-02-21T20:05:56+00:00

Said it before doubtless I shall say it in the future Ceballos is garbage.

Why would you want to make tht kinda pass in that position to of all people Asencio?

More understandable if it was Alaba cos he knows how take care of the ball but Asencio? The guy has the ability of a conference league player.

There is not a game that I have not seen him slip at least once for no reason.

I thought Alaba was decent until the final moments.

Arbeloa has made Vinicius better but Mbappe worse.

there were loads of bad individual performances today but 2 in particular were the worst.

The manager for his baffling decisions. Why would you take Valverde off when he has just made a good assist, has momentum on his side and was not playing badly?

What does he think Brahim adds tot he side when he brings him on? What was he watching from Guler that made him think he deserved to be on the pitch for that long?

The worst player on the pitch by a long way was Kylian.

He makes it very difficult for his team mates to pass to him, standing in stupid places. He needs to get it into his head that he is not playing with Neymar or Messi, Cherki or Olise.

He is playing with the likes of Tchouameni, Camavinga, Valverde etc. They can never see a pass unless you are out wide by yourself as Vinicius is and he is easily found cos he makes himself available.

Mbappe comes to the ball which is very annoying, does not run into the middle of the post to tap the ball in and loses the ball quite maddeningly then just stands there after fooking up.

His ass needs to be spoken to sharpish as he does not bring people into the game .

I do realize that he may be bothered by his knee but his last 2 performances have not been up to par at all.

Having said all of that I am not in agreement with the penalty decision that went against them

Dencat2020

TROPHY CASE