Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez started together for the first time in over two years on Saturday but Real Madrid were denied victory after a late equaliser by Real Valladolid.
Bale and James both looked certain to leave Madrid this summer but each were included by Zinedine Zidane in a line-up that was without a single new signing for the second game in a row.
Instead, Karim Benzema looked to have won it when he found the corner in the 82nd minute at the Santiago Bernabeu but Sergi Guardiola levelled in the 88th and Valladolid snatched a 1-1 draw.
“It leaves a bad taste in the mouth because we scored, we did the hardest part,” said Zidane.
“After going ahead, we should have been more pragmatic and had more conviction to do what was required.”
With Eden Hazard and Ferland Mendy both injured, Luka Jovic and Eder Militao on the bench and Rodrygo gaining experience in the B team, there was little to show for Madrid’s 300 million euros spent.
Jovic came on, and hit the crossbar, yet this was a side looking back not forwards, James starting his first Madrid match since April 2017, alongside Bale, whose reintegration continues after his impressive display last weekend against Celta Vigo.
Both were dynamic, the team’s chief creators, and Zidane said afterwards he only took James off in the second half because he was feeling some discomfort.
“James played well, he came off as he had a little issue and we didn’t want to take any risks,” said Zidane. “He played well, especially in the first half, just lacking a goal when he had the chance.”
It is a familiar problem because while Madrid scored three in Vigo, they were toothless here, their lack of cutting edge in the final third, so often their undoing last season, painfully evident again.
They had 22 shots, but only four on target and even fewer could be classed as clear opportunities.
If club president Florentino Perez was watching, he may have concluded the club’s pursuit of Neymar is worth accelerating.
Valladolid, who won away at Real Betis on the opening weekend, rode their luck too but defended with determination and Guardiola’s finish was certainly not their only chance.
