Real Madrid Struggle to Close Out Games Despite Having Chances
Listen to the story
Real Madrid faced a difficult match against Elche, and only a save from an overlooked player stopped the team from a bad result. This player does not usually get much attention, but his performance was important this time.
After the game, comments from manager Jose Mourinho were shared again. Mourinho, who has managed many top clubs, said: "In these games, we have chances to finish them off, but we don't." His words point to a problem some teams have: creating chances but failing to score enough goals to control a match.
The story also looked at Real Madrid player ratings from the Elche game. These ratings show how well each player performed. According to the ratings, the overlooked signing played a key role in saving the team from disaster.
Separately, Real Madrid player Federico Valverde spoke about reaching 250 appearances in LaLiga, the top football league in Spain. Valverde said, "I want to keep making history at the best club in the world." His comments show pride in his long career with Real Madrid so far.
Together, these stories give a picture of a Real Madrid team that has strong individual players and history, but that still needs to improve at finishing games off cleanly.
Vocabulary10 words
- overlooked
- not noticed or given much attention
- manager
- the person who leads and trains a sports team
- finish off
- to end a game with a clear win
- player ratings
- scores that show how well each player performed
- signing
- a player who has joined a team
- LaLiga
- the top football league in Spain
- league
- a group of teams competing against each other
- appearance
- one time a player takes part in a game
- performance
- how well someone does something
- disaster
- a very bad or unwanted result
Quiz
Answer key
1. He saved the team from a disastrous result 2. They create chances but fail to finish games off 3. 250 LaLiga appearances
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Real Madrid faced a difficult match against Elche, and only a save from an _____ player stopped the team from a bad result.
This player does not usually get much _____, but his performance was important this time.
After the game, comments from _____ Jose Mourinho were shared again.
Mourinho said: "In these games, we have chances to _____ them off, but we don't."
His words point to a problem some teams have: creating chances but failing to score enough _____ to control a match.
The story also looked at Real Madrid player _____ from the Elche game.
According to the ratings, the overlooked _____ played a key role in saving the team from disaster.
Separately, Real Madrid player Federico Valverde spoke about reaching 250 _____ in LaLiga.
Valverde said, "I want to keep making _____ at the best club in the world."
Together, these stories give a picture of a Real Madrid team that still needs to improve at _____ games off cleanly.