A Word From the Author
I’ve been searching for a way…Looking for a way…
Welcome to The Daily Merengue — a place where you can feel free to discuss all things football. Do not be alarmed by the overt RMCF bias. It’s in the name!
Shoutout to the Mods who do a fantastic job, Valyrian Steel, KungFuZizou, NeRObutBlanco, Felipejack, and Juninho (the “King of Mods”).
Appreciation Post: Thibaut Courtois
Thank You. Today, we’ll begin with praise for an unsung hero. Although his start at Real Madrid was a bit tumultuous (particularly with the section of Real Madrid fans who still adored Keylor Navas), Tibo has rewarded Flo’s initial faith with spectacular performances throughout his Real Madrid career. As stated by Fede Valverde “If Tibo wasn’t our goalkeeper, we wouldn’t have won the CL in Paris.” So Thank You Tibo for all that you have given and continue to give.
30 – Thibaut Courtois has saved 30 of the last 35 shots on target he has faced for @realmadriden in the Champions League, conceding just the five goals in their two semi-final meetings with Manchester City in 2023. Saviour. pic.twitter.com/C5oLJKwYDq
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) September 17, 2024
Once Again
Preparation Matters. I’m not going to belabor this point today because I’m just not in the mood too. However, while stumbling on themes for today’s thread I stumbled on a peculiar stat. Thus far this season, Real Madrid has only scored 1 goal in the first half (against Mallorca). We have instead scored 91% of our goals in the second half. So what do we do with this stat? On one hand, it is good to see that we seem to make half time adjustments. 90 mins is surely a long time and that is felt when facing Real Madrid. On the other hand, this still calls to question our early game preparation. It feels like this is a troubling trend which needs to be rectified or it will surely be punished.
UCL visual thread by @mhassanfootball
FT: Real Madrid 3-1 Stuttgart
xG: R.Mad 2.61-1.94 Stu
npxG: R.Mad 2.61-1.94 Stu
xT: R.Mad 1.80-1.66 Stu
Field tilt: R.Mad 48.71%-51.29% Stu
Possession: R.Mad 46%-54% Stu
Big Chances: R.Mad 3-3 Stu
Shots on Target: R.Mad 8.0-7.0 Stu#UCL pic.twitter.com/UgS3b3cjqt— Managing Madrid (@managingmadrid) September 18, 2024
Champions League on A Thursday?!
Weird. I’m all for good football year round, but this schedule is weird and is just begging for players to get hurt. Anyways, tune in today to watch a few exciting games:
Bayer Leverkusen v. Feyenoord
Atalanta v. Arsenal
Atletico Madrid v. Leipzig
Monaco v. Barcelona
Realistically, the Spanish teams should win their matchups. Arsenal SHOULD beat Atalanta but I do rate Gasperini to put up a good fight. Sending my thoughts + prayers for Xabi Alonso (future manager of Real Madrid CF) so I will not make any prediction / jinx.
Pretty blessed to have been able to field Xabi Alonso and Toni Kroos back-to-back. This kind of long range distribution was special. Shame we never got to see Alonso, Kroos, and Modric play together. pic.twitter.com/k7l6iI5xp3
— Kiyan Sobhani (@KiyanSo) September 18, 2024
Xabi Alonso’s decision to stay at Bayer Leverkusen was received very well at Real Madrid.
His decision aligns with Real Madrid’s roadmap, which includes him being the manager after Ancelotti. At the club, they consider Xabi the ideal Real Madrid coach. @relevo pic.twitter.com/qIe6aZPh87
— Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) March 30, 2024
Advice for the Lil Homie(s)
“It Gets Easier. Every Day, It Gets A Little Easier. But You Gotta Do It Every Day. That’s The Hard Part.”
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a rose
