Despite trailing Barcelona by eight points in La Liga, Sid Lowe feels Real Madrid will have chances to mount a comeback.
Sometimes it's simply not enough to report, even with powerful adjectives and a blaring headline, that Goliath took a slingshot to the forehead and that David has produced something close to a combat miracle.
The fact that Real Madrid (Goliath) are world, European and Spanish champions, just made history as the first consecutive Champions League winners and have already won two trophies this season, along with the truth that their operating budget could buy the whole city of Girona, not just the club (David), and because this is the first time for nearly a decade that Los Blancos have lost to a newly promoted side, it's obvious that the instant focus is on the mighty falling.
Everybody wants to examine the prostrate, unconscious giant rather than admiring the little guy's aim or his daring. But there was so much to relish about the remarkable 94 minutes at the Estadi Montilivi in northern Catalonia on Sunday afternoon: the drama, the political and social backdrop and, above all, the fact that Madrid didn't chuck this away. They were comprehensively outplayed by a thrilling, ultra-confident, smart and tireless Girona.
Little more than 100 kilometres to the south, hundreds of thousands of citizens had simultaneously gathered in the city of Barcelona to protest against the demands for Catalan independence. But within the 9,500-capacity stadium, which held nearly 14,000 on Sunday because this season has seen the addition of a temporary tribune, the large majority of the crowd roared (and I mean roared): "In ... Inde ... Independencia".
But by the time Girona's Rojiblanco fans were howling it to the azure-blue skies, in the 17th minute as tradition dictates, they were under the yoke of Madrid. Not the Spanish capital, nor the government, but Zinedine Zidane's all-conquering, expensively constructed winning machine that had gone 1-0 up via Isco five minutes before.
Just think of it. The first-ever competitive meeting between the clubs. Girona helmed by a coach in Pablo Machin who was warned by friends and counsellors not to take the Girona job in March 2014 because they were a) plummeting towards relegation to the third division, b) in a sleepy dormitory town and c) "because everyone in Girona actually supports Barcelona or Madrid." And yet in their debut fixture against Real Madrid, a couple of months into their debut La Liga season, they gift the world's most fearsome side a one-goal start before beating them much more comprehensively than the 2-1 scoreline indicated. It is one of the great modern football stories.
Zinedine Zidane's side look flat and short of confidence right now but there's plenty of time to regain momentum.
So now, I'm sorry to introduce more dramatis personae to the stage, but the story is much richer and more savoury than it might look at first glance. Consider this: Girona are jointly owned by Pere Guardiola, brother of Pep, and the City Football Group, Pep's employers. While "Guardiola FC" was out-running and out-playing Real Madrid, they also were ensuring that Barcelona, the club both brothers passionately love, would maintain an eight-point gap on last season's champions. The fact that Madrid have never overturned an eight-point gap on any Liga leaders in their entire history was just a byproduct of the historic victory.
You want more subplots and story strands? Some salt in the wounds?
Girona FC's president is Delfi Geli, born a 10-minute drive from the Estadi Montilivi in the small community of Salt. But he's better known for his footballing career, during which he played almost every league match for Atletico Madrid while winning the double back in 1995-96 -- thus preventing Madrid from winning a hat trick of Liga titles. Imagine Bury making it to the Premier League for the first time and beating Manchester United under the chairmanship of Noel Gallagher. Extra sore.
Then there is Valencia to consider. If the fact Madrid have never before overturned an eight-point gap on a Liga leader signifies that Zidane's team is out of the race already, something I categorically refuse to believe, then Los Che can genuinely begin to dream that this might be their miracle year like 2014 was for Diego Simeone and Atletico.
The harsh fact of life in Spain is that not only must a title challenger play some historically good and intense football, but they need the big two to be either badly distracted or suffering some major footballing trauma. Is it feasible that Marcelino's remodelling of Valencia into a fast, daring, robust and free-scoring band of brothers has arrived at precisely the right time for a smash-and-grab raid on the championship? At very minimum, Girona increased the possibility that the answer is "yes."
Only three teams (two clubs) have ever overturned an eight-point deficit on the leaders and then won the title: Barca under Johan Cruyff and Louis van Gaal, and Valencia themselves under Rafa Benitez. So, Madrid: it can be done. But the question remains: will Madrid do it?
Unless you believe he's biased because of his Barca background, Girona defender Marc Muniesa, who hardly had his busiest afternoon, helped settle the argument between Zidane and Casemiro about what went wrong at the Montilivi. Madrid's manager, who has the great virtue of telling the truth more readily, more regularly and with more enthusiasm than the vast majority of leading managers, claimed that there was very little wrong with the champions' actual performance in northern Catalonia on Sunday afternoon. Simply that minor details went against them.
"We showed intensity and effort," Zidane said. "It was concentration that cost us." That, in honesty, wasn't the game anyone else saw. His players were flat on confidence, low on energy, lacking their usual succinct passing game, low on chance creation and lucky that two other Girona efforts off the woodwork didn't go in.
Madrid had the life pressed out of them all afternoon; Casemiro admitted as much. He cut to the chase by saying "We didn't play well. On other days we've got out of trouble by creating lots of scoring chances but we didn't do that. They outplayed us in the second half. We suffered, a lot. We need to work harder and play better; it's a delicate, complicated moment."
The evidence of our eyes told us that the Brazil international was right on the money and that Zidane was simply protecting a squad that has a massively demanding and important test at Wembley against Tottenham on Wednesday.
Sid Lowe compares Cristiano Ronaldo's slow start last season to this campaign and warns his critics not to pass judgment too quickly.
But Muniesa clarified things by speaking with unusual bluntness. "Madrid really surprised us because they arrived over-confident and apathetic," he said. "They were too relaxed and seemed like they thought they'd beat us easily." Unless you accused Zidane of becoming the organiser and honourary president of a Marco Materazzi fan club, there are few words that would sting him more than the assertion that his players were overconfident, apathetic and complacent.
Spurs won't thank the on-loan Stoke centre-half for his savage criticism of the Champions League holders. Never poke a sleeping tiger with a sharp stick. As for the pretty remarkable situation in which Madrid find themselves, I urge you not to believe the cheap-shot merchants who might now pile into Zidane and question his methods.
Please just let me take you back to the fashion in which Barcelona were not beaten but beaten up, humiliated and, in football terms, shredded in the Super Cup just two months ago. Or, if you please, to the absolutely dynamite performances (all away wins) at Deportivo La Coruna, Real Sociedad and Borussia Dortmund. Against Manchester United in the European Super Cup, Madrid were tough, dangerous, flooded the game with chances, could have scored four times and won 2-1.
What has happened, very obviously, is that Los Blancos have been weakened by a thousand cuts. They've not gone on holiday mentally, and they've not arrogantly decided that they can coast to the trophies that remain for them either. Let's be brutally clear: Ronaldo pushing the referee when he was sent off against Barcelona cost him dramatically. It cost him match time, match sharpness, goals, confidence and cost the team which had to cover for him.
They dropped points that his phenomenal scoring record -- something that looked as if it were about to kick off again as usual when he scored that wonder goal at the Camp Nou -- could have saved. Those dropped points have damaged squad confidence.
That's Ronaldo's fault, not Zidane's.
And then there are the injuries. Between Dani Carvajal's illness, Marcelo's leg strains, Gareth Bale's constant tears and niggles, Karim Benzema's hamstring, Raphael Varane's repetitive inability to string more than five or six straight games together and Keylor Navas' recurring difficulties, Zidane must think he smashed a mirror somewhere without noticing. Or think that his medical department, diagnostic, rehabilitation and prevention must do better. Someone is letting him down.
Mateo Kovacic -- a quick, technical, ferociously competitive midfielder -- had played seven times by matchday 10 in La Liga last season and would most certainly have been involved at Girona on Sunday if fit. But he, too, has been absent injured, playing just 62 minutes in the league this term.
Alejandro Moreno assesses what's wrong with Real Madrid following their shock defeat against Girona.
Now, again: factor this in if you want to understand what's happening to Madrid. Previewing their season, I warned that selling the 31 goals contributed by James Rodriguez and Alvaro Morata was "not competent" and that "... should one of Madrid's front line have an injury-plagued season, then Los Blancos' current ability to produce jack-in-the-box wins in tough fixtures may wilt." Hey, presto.
Of Madrid's summer signings, only Dani Ceballos has made any significant impact but of the 17 competitive matches so far, he's started three times.
Last season it was a case of fighting, snarling and competing as if your life depended on it in order to get into Zidane's starting XI. Right now, without James and Morata, not only are Madrid scoring far fewer goals, but there has been a relaxation among Zidane's players. Subconscious, minimal but, eventually, telling. The first XI know who they are and can expect to start with almost total regularity. The backup players know that the competition to get the rotation slots and substitute appearances has gone down since Morata, James, Pepe, Danilo and Mariano left the club.
Morata has six goals in nine games for Chelsea; Mariano has eight in 11 for Lyon. Failing to sign Kylian Mbappe and not having a backup plan has been pretty disastrous for Los Blancos so far. Hello, President Florentino.
Zidane has been undermined, under-supported and that's why his team is, currently, underwhelming. But does that mean that they'll automatically be easy picking for Spurs at Wembley? I doubt it very much.
Graham Hunter covers Spain for ESPN FC and Sky Sports. Author of "Barca: The Making of the Greatest Team in the World." Twitter: @BumperGraham.
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Source: espn.co.uk