Fabio Cannavaro, FIFA player of the year seems to have forgotten the basics of defending in the last three games. He was taken to the cleaners by Deportivo’s Arizmendi on a number of occasions. Real’s poor defending is causing Fabio Capello heartburn. This was also Fernando Gago’s debut and it was not a very auspicious start. He played almost one hour but was unable to do much and was replaced by Marcelo. Real could not take advantage of Barca’s draw against Getafe and Sevilla’s loss against Real Zaragoza to climb up the table. Deportivo kept their supremacy against Real intact and have not lost since the 1991-1992 season at La Coruna.
However Real’s problem is not just the non-existent defending but the anemic attack that apart from Van Nistelrooy, seems to be producing very few goals. Ronaldo and Robinho have combined for 2 goals in 14 appearances. In 17 matches, Real has scored 26 goals. Ronaldo is probably looking back at his Inter Milan days and truth be told he might actually be looking for a transfer back to his old club.