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‘A tale of two halves’, is what sums up the dethroned European champions Real Madrid’s recently concluded campaign. After a small speed bump following the UEFA Super Cup title, which saw them being consigned to defeats in the Spanish Super Cup by Atletico Madrid and falling to 13th in the table after 2 defeats in the opening 3 games of the league, Los Blancos embarked on their historic 22-match winning streak, sending an ominous statement across Europe.
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However, what transpired in 2015 was simply disastrous. Los Merengues went completely off the boil in the new year and were merely a shadow of their forceful selves who sauntered their way past their adversaries.
Their poor form saw them being knocked out by their neighbours in the Cup, ceded the top spot in Liga to Barcelona and were driven out of the Champions League by Juventus. Just a year after the Decima success, Real were, shockingly, trophyless.
While the campaign ended in heartbreak for Real Madrid, there were a few moments from the season which the fans can look at with a twinkle in their eye. Here are the top 5 moments from Real’s 2014/15 campaign -
Clinching the Super Cup to start the season with a bang
Real Madrid played their first official game of the season in the UEFA Super Cup in yet another all-Spanish affair against league rivals and Europa league champions Sevilla. Held in the Cardiff city of Wales, they entered the game as heavy favourites and would go on to seal another piece of silverware with nonchalance.
While all eyes were on the homecoming hero Gareth Bale, it was Cristiano Ronaldo (who else?) who stole the show with an amazing brace. The Welshman though, made a mark on his return to his home country when his lovely cross was met by an unmarked Ronaldo, who put the ball in the net to put the Whites ahead and sealed the Cup just 5 minutes into the second half with a blistering volley from the edge of the box.
Real Madrid lifted only their 2nd European Super Cup and got the new season off to a flyer.
Humbling Barcelona 3-1 in the season’s first El Clasico
The European champions, trailing Barcelona by 4 points, were in a rich vein of form prior to the El Clasico. Trampling every opposition underfoot, they were on an 8-match winning streak and needed to continue the winning spell to catch up with their rivals from Catalonia.
What was expected to be a tight contest, instead, turned into a lopsided affair.
Neymar, who looked rejuvenated right from the start of the season, broke the deadlock in just 5 minutes to give the visitors an unprecedented lead. Boos and jeers started clouding over the home team, but they breathed a sigh of relief when Cristiano Ronaldo restored parity for the hosts from 12-yards after Gerard Pique appeared to have handled the ball inside the penalty area.
Real went ahead early in the second half when Pepe headed the ball home from Luka Modric’s corner and Karim Benzema put the tie beyond doubt with a neat finish right at the hour mark. Barcelona were given a harsh reality check, as they went on lose to at home to Celta Vigo in the very next game and eventually ceded their top spot to Real Madrid.
Top of the world- Real win the FIFA Club World Cup
Having rounded off their 2014 league and Champions League games in sparkling fashion, Real Madrid flew down to Morocco to claim their last possible piece of silverware in what had been a truly remarkable year for the capital club.
Brushing aside Mexican outfit Cruz Azul in the semi-finals, Madrid eased to a 2-0 win over San Lorenzo in the finals to lift the Club World Cup, their 4th trophy in the calendar year and they capped off the year with their historic 22-match winning run.
Real Madrid, at the peak of their powers, had arguably reached one of their biggest points in the recent memory.
Last gasp victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League
Since the time Real crushed Atletico in the Champions League finals, the 2 sides have met a total of 8 times – in the Spanish Super Cup, twice in the league, Copa del Rey and the Champions League again.
Intriguingly, Los Colchoneros held sway over their rich neighbours in most of those games - winning 4 and losing just 1. However, that sole defeat came at a very crucial stage of the season, when both sides clashed in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, thereby ending any hopes of silverware prematurely.
Real Madrid, winless against Atleti in the previous 6 games, drove down to the Calderon, once again wary of their poor scoring record at the ground (0 goals in 3 appearances there). The match was expected to be dominated by the Rojiblancos, but the visitors kept their cool and held them to a goalless stalemate, albeit, after missing a few chances to snatch an away goal.
In the second leg, the tie was once again evenly contested and the scoreline read 0-0 even after 85 minutes gone. Just when it seemed as though the game was heading towards the excruciating extra time, Ronaldo scuttled into the penalty area to lay a pass to the unmarked Chicharito, who sliced the ball into the net past two Atletico players.
The goal propelled Real into the last 4 for the 5th year running whereas the on-loan Chicharito had finally proved his worth to the side after several underwhelming months in the Spanish capital.
Real and Ronaldo rewrite history books with 9-1 demolition of Granada
The players returned from their respective international commitments to resume their club duties, starting with a home game to Grenada, on matchday 29. After the Clasico defeat to Barcelona in the previous round, Los Blancos had just 1 win in the previous 4 league games and trailed the leaders by 4 points.
Any further slip-ups would have virtually spelt the end of the trophy hunt for Real, who had been abysmal thus far. Although a victory over the lowly Andalusians was always on the cards, the margin by which Real romped to that victory was simply bewitching.
After a cagey 30 minutes, Bale triggered the onslaught with a sublime finish and Ronaldo piled on with a treble inside 8 minutes to make the scoreline 4-0 at halftime. Granada, staring down the barrel of relegation, were put to the sword again in the second half when the home side pumped in another 5 goals, 2 each from Ronaldo and Benzema coupled with an own goal, to register one of their most resounding victories ever in the league.
It was for the first time in 47 years that they had scored 9 in a league game, with Ronaldo bagging a historic quintuple.
