Hot Takes & Rants: 24 July 2022

The Daily Merengue is 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, Felipejack, Juninho, NeRObutBlanco and YoSnail

“I was born to be the best

Number one and nothing less..” - Right Said Fred

True to form

Real Madrid continue to treat pre-season games with disdain if not utter contempt. On a more serious note. The boys look really fit and physically ready for competition. There's a lack of sharpness but that's to be expected. The attack was largely toothless which has more to do with the tactical setup.

A glimpse into life without Karim

Ancelotti managed to solve a lot of tactical problems last season but the thorn in his side remains.

“How do I, get through one game without you? If I have to play without you. What kind of game would that be? Oh, I.. I need you in attack, need to you to hold up the ball.. Karim you can see the plays, no one can see. So tell me now, how do I win without you. I want to know..” - CA and the XI

Carletto's way

Rudiger played LB and Alaba played at LCB. They didn't really rotate which was very disappointing given the potency of such a tactical wrinkle.

The midfield setup of Edu, Aurelien and Fede left a lot to be desired but there were positives. I hope to see more of it.

Hot takes

• Barcelona are already great and we can tell from pre-season. They are going to break scoring records.
• Real Madrid should focus on next season because they didn't buy Nkunku, Raphinha, Lewandowski, Gnabry or a RW player like we told them to.
• It's the end of the road for Militao.

Rants

• Real Madrid are relying on Modric and Karim. Save us. There's way better players out there that we could have signed.
• Hazard is terrible in a role that's not natural for him. He doesn't deserve more than 45 minutes to improve.

• Asensio, Mariano, Odriozola

The good news

It's wonderful to see the boys in their impeccable white strip. Beautiful kit they have this season. I was entertained in the first half despite the boys not doing much offensively. Cannot wait for the next game.

Another one.. Miguel

The Daily Poll