After 22 games, Real Madrid’s stunning winning streak came to an end thanks to a 2-1 loss at Valencia on Sunday. Los Blancos finished two wins shy of tying Brazilian club Coritiba’s world record of 24 wins.
Real Madrid’s winning streak is over, but that’s not a bad thing
Sometimes even the best teams need to be reminded that they’re not invincible.
Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images
They will be left with the lingering feeling that they missed out of the chance to do something special, but that will fade. There are still trophies to be won and rivals to be crushed. And thanks to Valencia, Madrid will probably be even more formidable going forward.
Now that’s a frightening prospect.
The loss will serve as a reminder, a proverbial string tied around Madrid players’ fingers, that winning La Liga and defending their Champions League title will not be easy. That’s not to say that Carlo Ancelotti’s team was suffering from overconfidence, but with 22 straight victories, even the most experienced players had to be feeling a bit invincible.
If anything, Antonio Barragan and Nicolás Otamendi just made life much harder for the other challengers, Barcelona and Atlético Madrid. The Valencia goalscorers likely made it harder for the rest of the La Liga clubs as a whole. Ancelotti will no doubt preach to his team the importance of staying focused for every match; he'll point back to this loss the rest of the year as a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.
Even the best teams need that reminder from time to time, and the truly great ones take the lesson to heart.
On Wednesday, Real Madrid meet city rivals Atléti in the first leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie. Diego Simeone can't be thrilled with the prospect of facing an already tough challenge that'll now be magnified by Los Che effectively shaking the hornet's nest. Los Blancos' next league opponent, Espanyol, is probably in for a rough time as well.
Anything other than a superb performance by Real Madrid will be a huge shock, and Ancelotti will be demanding nothing less.
Sunday could also spur Ancelotti into action in the transfer market. The loss to Valencia shed light on Madrid's continued midfield woes. They'll be able to handle things until Luka Modrić returns, but right now, there's no one capable of holding things together as he did. While it's unlikely they can pick up someone to replicate what Modrić does for Los Blancos, at least Ancelotti can consider his options during the January transfer window.
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Without Modrić, there's an obvious lack of creativity in Madrid's side, leaving their most dangerous weapons unable to affect the match when it's most needed. Against Valencia, Isco and Toni Kroos were taken out of the hosts' pressing play, and while it certainly didn't help that Gareth Bale played one of his worst matches since joining the club, Madrid should be good enough to overcome that. Instead, with Isco and Kroos ineffective, they stuttered.
Valencia and head coach Nuno deserve credit for playing a great match, while the Mestalla crowd deserves its share of credit as well for continuing to make the stadium a brutal place for visiting teams to play. They may have even shown the world a blueprint for disrupting Madrid -- assuming other teams have the personnel and ability to replicate the performance.
While there’s always the chance that Madrid will be left reeling from the loss and go into a midseason tailspin, do you really think that’s likely? Is it really possible a team led by Ancelotti, full of talented and experienced players would go to pieces? Definitely not. Logic says Sunday’s events at the Mestalla will only serve to make Madrid stronger, and that’s a scary proposition for their opponents.
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