Leganes 1-3 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points

#2 Second string midfield shines on the night

The Croatian had a 97% passing accuracy in the game

With Kroos and Modric out injured, it was the duo of Isco and Kovacic who were assigned to play alongside Casemiro in the midfield against Leganes. For larger durations of the game, Madrid's midfield had the upper hand over the opposition with Kovacic particularly being impressive.

Kovacic often dropped deep to get into possession and carried the ball forward with conviction. He utilised the ball well and had a passing accuracy of 97% - the highest in the game. His runs into the box also won Madrid the penalty right at the death.

91 - Mateo Kovačić attempted 91 passes against Leganes (88 successful passes), his highest tally in a La Liga game. Tempo. pic.twitter.com/flx2sbLgwV

— OptaJose (@OptaJose) February 21, 2018

With him dropping deep, Casemiro received the license to bomb forward which resulted in him getting in the right position to score. Isco was influential in the first half but jaded as the game went on. But overall, Madrid's three-man midfield had the right mix of creativity and guile to have an upper hand over Leganes.