‘The Team That Runs the Least’—Does it Matter That Real Madrid Don’t Run?

“We’re the team that runs the least in La Liga?”

Marc Cucurella was surprised to be presented with the statistic during an interview on Spanish radio programme El Larguero during the international break.

“That surprises me, because we actually run a lot,” the left back added. “Maybe those stats are talked about now because we lost the derby and we lost to Betis. If we had won every game, nobody would be talking about that.“

The stat is true, but there is a caveat. According to figures widely shared on social media this week, Real Madrid rank 20th out of 20 in La Liga for distance covered this season. However, the idea that this means Madrid run less than other teams is a bit of a misnomer. What it is actually tracked is every in-play movement from sprints to jogs to strolls—meaning Madrid move less than other teams.

Los Blancos have collectively covered around 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) less per match than the average La Liga team in the opening seven matches of 2026–27 and a whopping 21 km (13 milles) less than Barcelona.

Is Madrid’s Movement a Problem?

🚨 Real Madrid is the team that runs the LEAST in La Liga this season.

The team covers 21km less per game than Barcelona, and covers 10km less than the average La Liga team. pic.twitter.com/WL12j3SECi
— Madrid Zone (@theMadridZone) September 21, 2026

Distance covered is an unusual stat to unpick in soccer terms. It inherently feels like there should be an obvious correlation between moving a lot and being successful. “Run more” ranks among the most frequent requests from frustrated fans at a team who have lost their way.

The facts don’t necessarily bear this out, though.

In the Premier League this season, defending champions Arsenal are top of the distance covered table with an average of 118.7 km (73 miles) covered per match. However, down in 18th sit current actual table-toppers Manchester City with 111.2 km (69 miles). Liverpool, amid a mixed yet unbeaten start to 2026–27, are bottom of those standings (110.3 km, 68.5 miles).

Last season, Madrid ranked 12th overall in La Liga by the same metric, while Barcelona were only fifth. At the outset of this new campaign, it is actually 18th-placed Elche who are the biggest movers covering 105.61 km (65.6 miles) per match.

Really, distance covered stats reflect more a team’s individual style of play, with high-intensity, high pressers expected to move around the pitch the most. Seven matches is also a small sample size by which to make any sweeping pronouncements.

Interestingly, a report from CIES Football Observatory in 2021 showed no causal link between running more and gaining more points. Instead, serious modern sports science focuses more on sprinting figures, accelerations and positional context over the vagaries of “distance covered” alone.

Real Madrid’s Issues Run Deeper

It has been a bumpy start to the new season for Real Madrid, who have lost two of their opening seven fixtures away at Real Betis and Atlético Madrid, with several teething issues coming to the fore at the start of what was supposed to be a new era.

While Kylian Mbappé has been in red-hot form, his attacking partner Vinícius Jr has been a shadow of his best self, scoring just once in 2026–27 to date.

The Brazilian was virtually anonymous in the Madrid derby defeat and a damning graphic from L’Équipe showed how he and Mbappé continue to take up incredibly similar positions—an issue since the Frenchman’s arrival in 2024.

Control has been another key problem for Los Blancos, who have surrendered possession in three of their last four matches in all competitions (Atlético, Elche and Inter) and have not ‘won’ a second half in any of their last five outings. Meanwhile, a porous defense, depsite new signings, has kept just one clean sheet all season—at home to newly promoted Málaga.

“In the end, the stats are there, so we have to improve them, or we have to win every game so these stats aren’t as talked about,” Cucurella concluded. “Maybe we have to give a bit more effort and improve things a bit.”

There are surely things for Madrid to improve, but running for the sake it, probably isn’t one of them.

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