🔎 Bale brutally honest: Madrid need a number 9 | OneFootball

Gareth Bale, the legendary former Madridista, analyzed Real Madrid’s defeat at Anfield for CBS, offering a raw and direct perspective on the problems facing Carlo Ancelotti’s team. The Welshman didn’t mince words, pointing to the lack of offensive effectiveness as the main burden for the Whites against a superior Liverpool. His words strongly resonate with Madrid fans, sparking a crucial debate about the current makeup of the squad.

The main focus of Bale’s criticism fell on the attacking area. The Welshman lamented the "lack of quality" in the final third, directly pointing to figures like Mbappé and Vinicius Júnior: "They didn’t produce any magic. It was disappointing that in the final third there wasn’t the quality you expect from Real Madrid". A statement that highlights the club’s reliance on individual brilliance that, on big nights, doesn’t always show up.

This offensive shortcoming led Bale to identify a structural need: the arrival of a reference center forward. The former footballer explained that crosses and attacking moves were left without a finisher, an obvious tactical gap. "Sometimes you need to go and test the defender. There was no one in the box for the crosses. Maybe you need a ‘9’", he concluded, hitting the nail on the head regarding the role of a classic striker.

Beyond the purely tactical, Bale also had words about the coach’s role. In a clear warning to a potential future manager, Xabi Alonso, the Welshman emphasized that managing the Whites goes beyond the tactics board. "It’s not the same to coach Leverkusen as it is to coach Real Madrid… you have to manage more egos than make tactical changes", he stressed. This management of egos presents as big a challenge as the sporting one in a dressing room full of global stars.

Between the lack of a goal-scoring reference, the discreet performance of their wingers in the decisive phase, and the complexity of their dressing room, Real Madrid faces a period of reflection and necessary decisions. The Welshman’s analysis is the wake-up call that Los Blancos needed.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.

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