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Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win over Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday, February 18.
Osasuna entered this contest on the back of a dismal run of form, in which they lost two games, drew two and won one out of their past five across competitions. They played out a feisty 1-1 draw against Espanyol, with one player from either side being sent off, before a goalless encounter against Valladolid in their previous game.
Los Blancos, on the other hand, have won four of their past five games across competitions, including the FIFA Club World Cup final 5-3 against Al-Hilal. Their previous game in the league was a comfortable 4-0 win, with Karim Benzema netting a brace from the spot. However, the Frenchman missed out due to injury as Carlo Ancelotti named a dynamic lineup.
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The first half saw both sides fairly evenly matched in terms of possession stats, with Real Madrid narrowly ahead of Osasuna by 54 to 46. However, both sides had identical shooting stats, each attempting three shots and hitting the target once.
While the visitors adopted a more attacking and free-flowing approach, the hosts passed the ball around patiently once they regained possession as they waited for gaps to appear. Osasuna were hard in their tackles as they looked to prevent Real Madrid from making inroads down the wing. Multiple bad tackles later, Vinicius Junior retaliated to Jon Moncayola as the first period ended with a commotion.
The two teams were tied 0-0 at the interval.
Both managers turned to their benches fairly early in the second period, as both teams were deadlocked until the 78th minute. By then, most of Osasuna's players were starting to lose their markers, leaving several gaps for Real Madrid to exploit. Vinicius made the most of one such opportunity, running into space before setting up Federico Valverde for a goal.
The Brazilian seemed to have bagged a goal of his own to cap off a sound performance. However, his goal was ruled out for offside. Real Madrid did, however, seal the deal late on as the two substitutes combined. Alvaro Rodriguez played a pass to Marco Asensio, who scored to make it 2-0.
The visitors held onto their lead and took home all three points. With that said, here are the five talking points from the game.
#5. Benzema, Kroos and Tchouameni missed out - injured or rested?
Karim Benzema started in Los Blancos' 4-0 win over Elche last time around, bagging a brace for his efforts. However, he did not even feature on the bench tonight in what seemed to be a smart move by Ancelotti. With Real Madrid set to face Liverpool in the UEFA Champions League round of 16 on Tuesday, any rest is welcome for their aging stars.
Toni Kroos last featured in his side's dramatic victory in the Club World Cup final and wasn't in the squad for the last game. Aurelien Tchouameni, on the other hand, was subbed off with an injury in the final. He featured as a substitute in the win midweek, but was not involved tonight.
#4. Osasuna fought hard to try and secure a result
Credit where it's due - the hosts fought really well and really hard as they tried to walk away with at least a point, if not more. They went toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the first half in terms of attacking statistics and also matched them in possession until the late stages of the game.
Striker Ante Budimir and goalkeeper Sergio Herrera were the standout performers for Osasuna. The forward attempted two shots on target and played two key passes, while the custodian made four good saves. However, they were unable to prevent a late onslaught by the reigning champions.
#3. Real Madrid cannot afford to drop points
Despite tonight's win, Real are still six points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, with them having a game in hand. Considering the Champions League resumes this week and Los Blancos are likely to make a deep run in the competition, Ancelotti will face a selection headache as he decides whether to rotate or go for results.
Real Madrid have a challenging few weeks ahead of them as they face Liverpool, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Betis across competitions.
#2. The first half was marred by a fracas in stoppage time
After several hard tackles by Osasuna's players on Vinicius, one of them crossed the line and angered the Brazilian, prompting a heated reaction. Players from both sides were involved as others arrived to separate those involved. Three players were booked as the first half had an ugly climax.
Ancelotti, too, was seen complaining vehemently to the referees about something that had repeatedly been overlooked in the first half.
#1. Racism is still a big and unfortunate part of football
While targeting Vinicius by doubling up on him and restricting him for space was part of Osasuna's tactics to nullify his threat, their fans took it to another level. Several chants from the crowd angered Real Madrid's players and a fan also threw a banana onto the field, prompting the referee to approach stadium officials to make an announcement.
