Real Madrid’s 16-game winning streak was brought to a halt by Villarreal at the Bernabeu last night. The El Madrigal-based club, which finished 4th on the La Liga table last year but failed to qualify for the Champions League group stages, put up a spirited display which gave ample evidence of their European credentials.
The visitors took the lead at the stroke of half-time after a rash handball by Sergio Ramos handed a penalty to the Yellow Submarines. Bruno Soriano finished the chance off with a wonderful panenka, changing the Madrid-based outfit’s half-time team talk.
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It did not take long for Real to reply, as Ramos made amends for his own error by outjumping the Villarreal defense and thumping in a bullet header into Sergio Asenjo’s far post. After the goal, Real pressed hard and long for the equaliser, while Villarreal retained their defensive shape and looked to play their way out of defense.
With Real having the lion’s share of possession, they created a few chances – most notably a missed chance by Ballon D’Or contender Cristiano Ronaldo, who looked off-colour on the night. The Portuguese forward did not have the best of performances and, despite his enthusiastic efforts, failed to free himself from the defense.
The game finished in a little bad taste as Dani Carvajal talked his way into a booking from the referee after the final whistle. It seemed as if the Spaniard was remonstrating with match official Jose Luis Gonzalez over the matter of reduced stoppage time.
Here are 5 talking points that emerged from this fascinating game of football:
#1 Villarreal's Defensive Strength
The Canaries came into this game on the back of a strong defensive start to the season, having conceded only 2 goals in the 4 games that they’d played before this. Throughout this match, they maintained their shape well and allowed Real Madrid spaces at a premium.
The Madrid players had to resort to playing balls into the area from wide, as they could not negotiate their way through the center of a well-set Villarreal side.
While Real moved the ball to different parts of the field, Villarreal’s restrained attacking approach allowed them not to get caught on the break, in which situation it would have been easier for Real to find breakthroughs.
By not allowing Bale, Benzema or Ronaldo any room to run into on the break, they restricted Real tactically and matched them toe-to-toe for the length of the match.
#2 Real’s Experimental Midfield
With Modric and Casemiro not in the squad for this encounter, Real began the game with the triumvirate of Kroos, James Rodriguez and Mateo Kovacic for the first time this season.
While their superior technical ability allowed them to dominate possession and recycle the ball in continued attacks, they lacked the dynamism that Modric’s presence has always brought to the side.
The ball circulation by Real’s midfielders seemed way too docile and risk-free to bother the Canaries’ well-drilled defense, and they failed to create anything through the jam-packed central areas of the pitch.
While Kovacic attempted a few dribbles, he could not commit enough men on a single occasion to create an opening for the team.
Based on the evidence from this game, Real would need its first-choice midfield to start against the best teams in the world.
#3 The Real forward trio
The much-vaunted BBC trio came up short last night which has been a very rare occurrence under Zinedine Zidane’s tenure.
With Bale and Ronaldo returning to the playing XI for the match after a rest against Espanyol at the weekend, it was expected that the Real attack would overrun Villarreal. That was not to be the case as neither of the two contributed anything close to their ability in attack yesterday.
Benzema himself had a subdued game, receiving very little of the ball in the final third and having to rely on crosses coming from James and Bale on the right and Marcelo on the left.
Although he grew into the game in the second half, Morata looks to be in better form, while the Frenchman looks like he is only going through the motions.
Given the trio’s ability and track record, this match may be a blip on their season-long goal rampage, yet the fact that it came against Villarreal will concern Zidane about his side’s attacking form.
#4 Penalty incidents
It can be argued that Real were unlucky with regard to penalties in the match. Early in the first half, Karim Benzema was brought down in the box by a pair of Villarreal defenders, who tackled him from the front and back without getting the ball.
The referee had a great view of the incident, yet he waved away the appeals and Benzema’s incredulous look later gave us an impression of how unlucky he felt about the incident.
At the other end, Ramos committed a deliberate handball to block Samu’s goalbound effort.
Replays showed that Ramos’ incident took place with his shoulders partly outside the box and mostly on the line, yet, referee Jose Luis Gonzalez found it fit to award Villarreal the penalty, eventually converted by Bruno.
#5 Sergio Asenjo’s impressive performance
The Spaniard has been one of the Liga’s most consistent performers over the years, and he showed that yesterday by making 5 smart saves against the rampaging Real onslaught, mostly in the second half.
Most notably, he saved good shots taken by Benzema and Morata in either half. The save he made off Morata was a shot taken from just outside the 6-yard box, to which he reacted smartly and made a reflex save to claw the ball away from goal.
He showed assuredness and experience through the duration of the game, keeping a cool head and directing Villarreal’s defence.
