UD San Sebastián de los Reyes 2-1 Real Madrid Castilla

It doesn't particularly feel like it, but Castilla haven't won away all season. And looking back now, if they had managed to save a few of those points, then they'd be sitting pretty at the top of the tree. Today Solari’s men travelled to UD San Sebastián de los Reyes, who sat just above the relegation zone. By no means an easy game, but Castilla were favourites to say the least. This was a great opportunity to end that miserable away run.

Castilla started with 3 defenders, and packed the midfield, with top scorer Sergio Díaz up front alongside Martin Ødegaard and first time starter Lin Liangming on the wings. This was a risky formation and perhaps an unnecessary one considering the other payers Solari had available, but he has been the one for the experimenting this season.

The inexperience of this formation showed, as San Sebastián piled on the pressure early and started the better side. Their persistence was rewarded after 15 minutes when their forward touched down a long ball superbly before volleying into the back of Abad's net to make it 1-0. It was all Castilla deserved. After this, Castilla slowly improved, and had a decent penalty shout when Lin Liangming saw his shot saved before being fouled after controlling the rebound. Their luck continued to stall as Mario Hermoso saw his header seemingly cross the line, only for the referee to give nothing. This was as good as Castilla got in the first half as they went into the break 1-0 down.

Changes had to be made, and they were from the off as Tena dropped into centre back to give Castilla some added insurance. This paid off as Castilla were superior from the start, with Ødegaard and Febas involved much more. They managed to get themselves back into the game as Ødegaard cleverly fired in a low driven free kick under the wall and into the back of the net. Castilla finally got that goal, surely they'd go on to win it now?

Well, just a minute later, San Sebastián had a free kick of their own, and crossed well for Rubén Negredo (brother of ex-Castilla and Premier League striker Álvaro) who headed fantastically into the goal. 2-1

Castilla continued to push forward, and Ødegaard was the key man in a lot of attacks, as well as Liangming on the wings. Solari then interestingly decided to take both of them off, as well as Valverde.

Vergos, Lusimi and Enzo came on in an attempt to change the game, but in all honesty, San Sebastián finished the better side, and had more chances. The game finished 2-1 to SS Reyes.

So, a mix of bad tactics, unlucky decisions and bad play added up to cost Castilla three points. Castilla have now just claimed one win in 5 games, and are still yet to win away all season. A few heads are turning towards Solari, and he will have to buck up his ideas in the coming weeks to ensure his stay with Castilla.

Man of the match this week went to Martin Ødegaard who scored the goal and tried his best to get Castilla back into the game! Castilla take on Navalcarnero at home next week, but with their unpredictability I think it's best that I don't predict the score...

Castilla will need 3 points from the next game to stop their season from sinking further.

Goals: Ødegaard

Assists:

MOTM: Ødegaard