Three observations from Real Madrid’s 3-2 win vs Leganes

People were only just getting used to Gonzalo Garcia scoring hat-tricks and pokers for Castilla, and now he has pulled another miracle out of the bag, saving the first team from extra-time by scoring a last-minute header to help Real Madrid beat Leganes 3-2 in the Copa Del Rey.

Here are three quick observations from the win.

It is Gonzalo Garcia’s world, we are just living in it

For those who have not watched much of Castilla this season, Gonzalo Garcia has been incredibly immense in front of goal and all other facets of his game. For those who have watched them, you already knew that.

Garcia is having a bit of an all-time season at Castilla. Maybe if his breakout season took place last year, Garcia would have scored a bunch of first-team goals, but with players like Kylian Mbappe on the roster, it seems tough for him to break into it. Maybe this performance will help.

Regardless, it has all been the Gonzalo Garcia show at Castilla this season — and he has been nothing short of special. 19 goals in just 21 appearances for the Spaniard this season — he is just six away from equalling the highest single-season tally for a Castilla player in history (Mariano, 25, in 2015-16). All of this is with a much worse squad, and 16 matches still left to play, which goes to show just how good he has been this season.

Garcia went into the game, presumably not expecting some minutes. as that has generally been the case for most Castilla players being called up for the first team during Ancelotti’s tenure. He came on for Endrick in the 82nd minute, and 11 minutes later, Garcia became a hero. A well-taken header in the dying minutes of the game ended all hopes for a Leganes upset and raised Garcia’s stock to an all-time high.

Garcia is a top-level talent, and if Real Madrid did not boast the best attacking depth in world football, he would be getting more minutes than he currently is.

Keep in mind that he was not always an out-and-out striker. He can play extremely well there — as seen today — but the Spaniard was originally a winger. He has been forced to move in centrally due to Castilla having little to no goalscoring from the one striker they have — Loren Zuniga.

Gonzalo has been phenomenal in front of goal, and at the start, many thought it was just a couple of games. A couple of games then turned into a couple of months, and that has now turned into a whole season, making him a hero who has saved Real Madrid from yet another Copa Del Rey embarrassment.

The other side of the coin

Jacobo Ramon is a talented centre-back who has been exceptional for Castilla since the turn of the year — his presence at centre-back gives Raul a lot less to worry about as the team is unbeaten in every single game that Jacobo has played this season.

However, in Jacobo’s first full start for Real Madrid, he did not impress. He was very nervous when out of possession, as he gave the penalty away that sparked Leganes’ comeback. It was a sharp contrast, polar opposite, to Raul Asencio’s first Real Madrid appearance — Asencio was struggling a lot at Castilla but has yet to have a bad game for the first team.

However, this is not to say that Jacobo is not talented or that he cannot be good in the future. Many players take time to settle in. Hell, Vinicius Jr took a couple of seasons before he hit his stride. Every case is different.

This is not about defending him or shielding him from criticism — Jacobo had a bad game, no one is trying to hide that — but calling him names, saying he is terrible when he has shown on multiple occasions just how talented he is, is just baffling. Some fans have the tendency to be a bit short-sighted. I just don’t think one bad half or one bad game is enough for people to make the judgement that he is officially a terrible player. There is more to it than just that.

Besides, I could argue that Jacobo should not have been in that position in the first goal. It was due to a lack of coverage from other defenders. He was trying to put out fires, but was unfortunate to give a penalty in the process.

I think Jacobo is a good player. Maybe he is not good enough for the first team, maybe he is. This is just not a debate that should be settled after one game, good or bad.

Real Madrid have to be better at controlling games

According to my calculations, this was the sixth time where Real Madrid let their opponents back into the game (criteria: giving up a lead to end up drawing the game, or giving up at least a two-goal lead initially to win late).

Ever since Toni Kroos left, Real Madrid, to a degree, have had difficulties seeing out wins. It is hard to pinpoint what specific thing goes wrong, but they start succumbing to opposition pressure and soon see their lead vanish.

Real Madrid were 2-0 up, and suddenly, they were drawing 2-2, edging closer to some more extra time in this competition.

Real Madrid struggled in the previous round too, taking heroics from Endrick to get past Celta Vigo in extra time. It is just not good sometimes. It looks like Real Madrid have the match in their hand, and then there are lapses in concentration or something no one understands, and suddenly, Real Madrid have relinquished it from their very hands.

They were lucky Gonzalo was in the form of his life and had just scored a poker in the previous game, otherwise, who knows what would have happened?

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