Photo by Pedro Castillo/Real Madrid via Getty Images Kiyan and Jose break down another poor performance, with lots of big picture Mbappe discussion AUDIO: VIDEO: Link to Toronto event: https://tinyurl.com/bdr54xdw On this episode of the Managing Madrid Podcast, Kiyan Sobhani and Jose Perez discuss: Real Madrid’s ball progression struggles How Carlo Ancelotti set up the team at San Mames vs Athletic Club Rodrygo Goes’s return Kylian Mbappe’s confidence PLUMMETING Jude Bellingham’s performance Fede Valverde tasked heavily Much more. Did you enjoy this podcast? Get a ton of bonus content excl ..read more

Photo by Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto via Getty Images Atletic Bilbao were the better team and deserved their victory. Full match player ratings below: Full match player ratings below: Thibaut Courtois—7: Early parry on a Nico Williams pass across goal that denied a tap-in for Inaki Williams. Lucas Vazquez—4.5: Oftentimes the only option down the right flank with Fede Valverde hedging centrally. Needed Jude and Valverde to cover for him in tranistion on multiple occasions. Being the only outlet on the right, limited Madrid’s game in possesion. Raul Asencio—5.5: Slight scare to start the ga ..read more

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images The Real Madrid coach spoke after losing to Athletic Club Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti spoke after a La Liga defeat to Athletic Club to play down criticism of forward Kylian Mbappé after he missed a second penalty in a week, saying, “He’s much more than 1% [of his best level]. He’s not at his best level, but you have to give him time to adapt. He’s scored 10 goals and he’s working to do better.” Ancelotti on Kylian Mbappé “I haven’t spoken to him. It was a complicated match, evenly matched, fought, competed. When we equalized, we could have t ..read more

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images Defeat in Bilbao. Athletic Bilbao 2-1 Real Madrid (Bellingham). Madrid still second. Here is my reaction to the match. On the way: Player ratings, post game interviews and a podcast. The top of the table was only a few points away for Real Madrid, but a trip to Athletic Bilbao has proven to be a tough hurdle to jump in recent seasons. Raúl Asencio was all the rage right now, sticking a very rare microscope over the developments of La Fábrica and other potential prospects that could shine seemingly out of nowhere. One of them, Gonzalo García found ..read more

Photo By Ricardo Larreina/Europa Press via Getty Images All set for another LaLiga game! Real Madrid have published their starting lineup for the upcoming match against Athletic Bilbao in LaLiga. Real Madrid starting XI: Courtois, Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Fran Garcia, Tchouameni, Valverde, Ceballos, Bellingham, Mbappe, Rodrygo. Athletic Bilbao starting XI (TBC): Agirrezabala, De Marcos, Yeray, Vivian, Yuri, Ruiz de Galarreta, Prados, Williams, Sancet, Williams, Guruzeta. As expected, Tchouameni is back in the starting lineup and he will play in the midfield. It will be extremely important fo ..read more

Photo by Adam Hunger - FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images In a groundbreaking move for global sports broadcasting, DAZN has been named the exclusive global broadcaster of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Under this agreement, DAZN will have the rights to broadcast all 63 matches of the tournament, which will feature 32 of the world’s top football clubs, live and free of charge. Fans across the globe will be able to watch every match of the competition in various languages on DAZN’s platform, with the added flexibility of potential sublicensing to local broadcasters in different regions. The deal, reporte ..read more

Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images Don’t miss Real Madrid’s visit to San Mames. Real Madrid visit Athletic Bilbao for an intense away game, quite possibly one of the toughest matches left in the team’s LaLiga schedule. Los Blancos are coming off a get-right victory against Getafe, one which could very well make them gain some confidence and momentum for the rest of the month. However, they must also take care of business tonight, and doing so without Vinicius won’t be easy. Athletic are a very physical team, so Real Madrid will have to respond by matching that level of physicality ..read more

Photo by Michael Regan - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images Will Tchouameni feature in the starting XI? Real Madrid visit Athletic Bilbao in what could be one of the toughest fixtures on the team’s schedule. Athletic are always a very strong team at San Mames and things won’t be easy for Real Madrid with their current lack of depth. Real Madrid predicted XI: Courtois, Vazquez, Asencio, Rudiger, Fran Garcia, Tchouameni, Valverde, Modric, Bellingham, Mbappe, Rodrygo. Athletic Bilbao predicted XI: Agirrezabala, De Marcos, Yeray, Vivian, Yuri, Ruiz de Galarreta, Prados, Williams, Sancet, Williams, Guruzet ..read more

Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images Your Wednesday Issue of the Daily Merengue! The Open Thread/Daily Merengue is a place where you can discuss anything and everything related to football. Feel free to discuss the topics presented here, or start your very own discussions! The Open thread will be posted every day by one of the mods you’d love to treat to Souvlaki: Valyrian Steel, Felipejack, Kung_Fu_Zizou (AKA KFZ), Juninho and, of course... yours truly. Matchday! Real Madrid take on Athletic club today! What are your predictions and how’re you feeling overall about our chances? Real Madr ..read more

Olga Carmona vs France. Olga got some rest. Three Real Madrid players started for Spain. María Méndez was in a CB duo with Codina, and Olga as the left back, while Ona took the right back position and benched Shei, who started against South Korea. Teresa Abelleira was the pivot and played alongside Patri and Aitana, like in the last match. On the other side, all 3 French Madridistas were benched - Maëlle Lakrar, Naomie Feller, and Sandie Toletti. Both teams started strong by attacking, but Spain ultimately got an early lead in 6' when Mariona assisted Aitana for 0-1. ¡¡ ̃ !! ¡¡MARCAA @Aita ..read more