Real Madrid 0-1 Tottenham Hotspur: 3 reasons why Los Blancos lost the match

Real Madrid's poor run of form in pre-season continued, as they fell to a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the semi-final of the Audi Cup.

A 22nd minute goal from Harry Kane was enough to settle the contest, and Zinedine Zidane would have been disappointed with the performance of hs wards, especially coming off the back of an even more harrowing 7-3 defeat to Atletico Madrid.

This was Real Madrid's second consecutive defeat - third defeat from four preseason fixtures - and is a far cry from the side which is expected to challenge on all fronts next season.

Though no pushovers themselves, Real Madrid's history, massive investments over the summer, and the disgraceful defeat to Atletico Madrid meant the Liga giants were expected to win this fixture, but that failed to happen.

In this piece, we shall be highlighting three reasons why Real Madrid fell to a defeat to Tottenham.

#3 Madrid were outclassed in midfield

In the last five years, the Real Madrid midfield has distinguished itself as arguably the best on the planet. Casemiro, Luka Modric, and Toni Kroos all played significant roles in bringing three consecutive Champions League trophies to the Bernabeu.

However, nothing lasts forever, and the once immaculate midfield of Real Madrid has started to show signs of mortality. There were glimpses of this last season, but it has been very glaring during pre-season, with the game against Totttenham serving as the latest example.

Tanguy N'dombele and Harry Winks totally bossed proceedings in the middle of the park, limiting Kroos and Modric to merely spectators in a first half that was entirely dominated by Tottenham.

Though Casemiro has been absent due to his extended break, his return would only improve Real Madrid's fortunes a little. After so many years of top-level performance, Kroos and Modric are no longer the players they were, and Real Madrid could well step up their pursuit of Paul Pogba in the coming days.