The worst Real Madrid of the season LaLiga Santander - Real Madrid They lack these five things

The 3-0 scoreline doesn't begin to reflect everything that happened on Saturday in Ipurua.

Eibar deserved an even larger margin of victory against the worst Real Madrid side we have seen yet this season.

Thibaut Courtois was the best of the visiting players, who managed just one real chance, and the Belgian made three important saves.

The talk afterwards among the 300 or so Real Madrid supporters who made the trip to Eibar was whether the defeat was worse or not than the one at the Camp Nou, where it seemed Los Blancos had hit rock bottom and which resulted in Julen Lopetegui being replaced by Santiago Solari.

However, the Argentine has been brought back down to earth after four straight wins thanks to an outstanding performance from Jose Luis Mendilibar's men.

They were lacking in many departments, with five of their issues discussed here.

Lack of attitude

The attitude is usually a recurring theme when it comes to Real Madrid defeats, but yesterday that word came out of the dressing room and not just from the journalists.

Sergio Ramos, the man in charge of offering explanations after the game, was forceful and critical of his team.

"We didn't match the opposition in intensity and attitude, it was a bad performance," he explained.

"We must self-criticise, look inward and congratulate Eibar because we were not at their level.

"When you don't have an attitude and the difference with the opponent is so big, then you lose.

"If you lack desire and intensity then you will lose."

Lack of football

Ramos critiqued the attitude of his teammates, but the football was also an issue.

Solari opted for Dani Ceballos to replace the injured Casemiro and, this time, his decision was the wrong one.

A mistake from the midfielder at a Real Madrid corner resulted in an Eibar goal, with the hosts mounting the perfect counter attack to go 1-0 in front.

"We have to improve in these areas," Solari noted.

"In one transition, they punished us from a corner in our favour."

Apart from the specific failure of Ceballos in that instance, it wasn't the only thing that went wrong.

Real Madrid went to Ipurua with a clear plan that didn't work.

Solari, aware of the high pressure on a small field that would come, tried a direct game that ensured the ball bypassed the feet of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric on several occasions.

Ramos and Raphael Varane often looked to find Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale directly with long balls, but it was a misguided strategy.

Benzema did what he could with such service, but was also caught offside on seven occasions.

Lack of solidarity

Alvaro Odriozola started ahead of Dani Carvajal, who is just back from injury, and he had a nightmare afternoon.

He was charged with dealing with the overlapping Marc Cucurella, the best of the bunch for Eibar, but failed miserably, although he didn't receive any help during the game.

Bale stuck to his role as a forward and didn't look to track back to help his teammate deal with the issues on the wing.

That resulted in Cucurella having the freedom of that flank and he made the most of it by causing endless problems for Los Blancos.

Mendilibar noted what was happening and instructed his team to exploit it by neglecting Marcelo's wing, often a source of attack for other teams, to focus on Odriozola.

Lack of leadership

There was no intensity, no football played and there was no leadership either.

None of the star men for Real Madrid appeared and stepped up to the mark against Eibar.

Bale was only seen when he hit the back of the net for a goal that was ruled out and his presence in the team week after week is now perhaps unjustified.

He has been called on to lead a Real Madrid side without Cristiano Ronaldo and, this season, he has clearly had a subpar time of it.

Marco Asensio is also still not his usual self.

Among other things, it is because he plays in a position that does not benefit him or get the best out of his ability.

The Mallorcan assured MARCA that where he feels most comfortable is on the right or through the centre, but Solari insists on persisting with him on the left.

In that role, he tiptoed around his task and contributed little.

Neither did Kroos or Modric, who couldn't provide the solutions.

A lack of a project

Although Solari tried to see the glass as being half full, saying that he had seen positive things from the side during his first four games in charge, the reality is that Eibar capitalised on the new coach's decisions and punished them.

This time, Real Madrid's luck with the woodwork wasn't enough (five opposition clubs have hit the post or bar at 0-0 in the Solari era in five games) and they fell 3-0 to Eibar who are now just two points behind Real Madrid after 13 games.

It is the worst start for the club since 2005/06 (when they also had five defeats at this point) and on Saturday they were beaten with seven of the eight Ballon d'Or candidates making up the starting line-up.

"This is the squad there is," said Ramos, speaking for a club who seem to paying the price for a poor summer.

Ronaldo is no longer there, none of the signings have shone, those in charge of leading the way no longer appear and Isco, one of the best under Lopetegui, has been anonymous under Solari.