The forgotten man: How Casillas proved he’s still got it against Juventus

Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas

Few things in world football have caused such a stir over the last calendar year as the benching of the heralded Iker Casillas, by former Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho, after Diego Lopez was brought to the club in January, even as the Spanish icon returned from injury.

New manager Carlo Ancelotti has taken up a slightly democratic solution to the inherited situation between the pipes at the Bernabeu, handing the more frequent La Liga duties to the winter transfer window acquisition, whilst giving the gloves to the 32-year-old legend for Champions League commitments.

But despite the desolation felt by Casillas in continuing to be denied the untouchable status he was once afforded in goal for Real Madrid, on Tuesday away to Juventus he issued a strong statement asserting that he is indeed still the match-deciding goalkeeper he’s been known throughout his career as.

The Spanish capital club struggled defensively against the reigning Italian champions over the 90 minutes in Turin, constantly being pulled apart by incisive play, allowing Antonio Conte’s men to complete 16 key passes and take 24 shots.

Juventus v Real Madrid stats

Los Blancos’ struggles at the back were highlighted by poor tackling on the day, as Ancelotti’s side made just nine tackles out of a total 18 attempts, with centre back Rafael Varane failing to win a single challenge on opposition attackers.

Real Madrid stats

Where this protection failed, however, Casillas succeeded in large part, coming up with an incredible nine saves as he was often left exposed, a number of them stunning to the point of Juventus’ disbelief.

Iker Casillas stats

Most notable were the Spain international’s lightning reaction save on a wayward clearance from Pepe early on and his brilliant denial of Claudio Marchisio’s dipping header with an outstretched foot at point-blank range.

On seven other occasions Casillas also answered the call when tested, including fighting off a searing strike from Carlos Tevez and once again thwarting Marchisio at close range, whilst he added a catch and a punch each to aid his team-mates in dealing with deliveries from out wide, Juventus having whipped in 26 corners and crosses from out wide over the 90 minutes.

The 32-year-old was beaten twice on the evening as Real Madrid came away with a 2-2 draw in northern Italy, but could hardly be faulted as he was victimized by a nearly perfect Arturo Vidal corner conceded by Varane, and a bouncing Fernando Llorente header after his countryman outmuscled the young Frenchman on the edge of the six-yard box.

Juventus stats

Casillas did everything possible to ensure his side came away with a positive result, turning away the Bianconeri in a score of instances, when most goalkeepers would almost certainly have been beaten, allowing los Blancos to take a commanding lead in Group B in the process as they’ve all but secured qualification to the knock-out stages.

His sharpness was particularly impressive considering he’s seen only 284 minutes of football this campaign, suggesting that his mental strength hasn’t waned despite being relegated to the bench for the majority of his side’s action.

And though Casillas’ illustrious performance may do little to shatter Ancelotti’s goalkeeping paradigm at the Bernabeu, it quite plainly put on display the quality still abundant in the Spain number one’s gloves, and proved decisive in moving Real Madrid one step further in the quest to capture the Decima.