In Real Madrid's last league game of 2016, Zinedine Zidane survived a scare against Deportivo La Coruna to keep their lead at the top to six points. Los Blancos won the game 3-2 thanks to Sergio Ramos, who again scored the winner in stoppage time, to give his team all three points. Madrid were not at all in control of the game but they turned around proceedings in the last ten minutes of the match.
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Alvaro Morata had given the hosts a lead with a sensational strike from 25 yards out. Deportivo came back hard at the European champions as Joselu scored two goals in as many minutes to give the visitors a 2-1 lead against all odds. Substitute Mariano Diaz levelled the game from a Lucas Vazquez cross before Sergio Ramos scored his traditional header from a corner to send the fans into euphoria.
Also read: Twitter explodes as Sergio Ramos scores late winner for Real Madrid against Deportivo La Coruna
Let's take a look at five talking points from the exciting game that took place between Real Madrid and Deportivo La Coruna.
#1 Zinedine Zidane's gamble just paid off
Real Madrid are set to fly to Japan to play in the Club World Cup which prompted Zidane to play a makeshift starting eleven against Deportivo. His move nearly backfired as Real were run ragged throughout the game before coming into life in the final 10 minutes.
It was the first time since May 2014, that neither Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale nor Karim Benzema started for Real. Luka Modric was also rested after his exploits in midweek against Borussia Dortmund along with Marcelo as Nacho filled in as a left back last night.
Zidane, who could have faced heavy criticism had his side not been able to pull off an inspired comeback, is instead gaining plaudits after Los Blancos showed tremendous spirit to win the game in stoppage time.
#2 Deportivo La Coruna were unlucky not to get at least one point
Deportivo had not come to sit back and defend against the table toppers and they made their intentions clear from the first minute. The first half belonged to them as Real were not able to get hold of the game with the hosts having to defend a lot and dig deep.
The first clear chance fell to the visitors as a header crashed on to Keylor Navas' post and was cleared off the line with Deportivo players cursing their luck. Joselu came into the spotlight in the second half to give them a much-deserved lead before the visitors crumbled under pressure as two late goals denied them their first point at the Bernabeu since 2004-05.
#3 Sergio Ramos again saves Real Madrid's blushes
In England, the time which was referred to as 'Fergie time' can now be called 'Sergio Ramos time' in Spain. The Real Madrid captain headed home the winner from a Toni Kroos corner in the 93rd minute to give his team all three points before they head off to Japan. "It's all coincidence, isn't it?" he said mischievously after the full-time whistle as the players celebrated with their captain.
Ramos stated after the game that he was happy that the team's target was met at the end and that it was the duty of the players to fight for the badge till the final whistle. After salvaging a draw against eternal rivals, FC Barcelona, thanks to a Ramos header at the end, Real will hope that their captain continues his good run and helps them win the Club World Cup in Japan.
#4 A brilliant night for the Real Madrid youth setup
First, it was the chance of Alvaro Morata to score a brilliant goal which would have made Cristiano Ronaldo proud which gave Real Madrid the lead. Then another Real Madrid academy graduate Mariano Diaz levelled the proceedings as he scored a looping header in the 85th minute from a Lucas Vazquez cross as both the substitutes worked in tandem to level the game for Real.
For Deportivo, Joselu scored a brace which included two smashing strikes, the first one of which left Keylor Navas completely helpless. The brace takes Joselu's league tally to three with his first goal coming for Real Madrid in the 2010-11 season.
Joselu was a Real Madrid academy graduate who emerged on the scene five years ago but could not cement his place at the Bernabeu because of Alvaro Morata, who took his place then and who also scored in the game last night.
#5 Real Madrid achieve a new club record:
Zinedine Zidane has seen his team go unbeaten in a staggering 35 games with their last defeat coming against Wolfsburg back in April in the Champions League knockout phase. Since then, Real Madrid have gone on to erase Leo Beenhaker's record from the record books as his 34-game unbeaten streak between October 1988 and April 1989 has now been excelled by Zinedine Zidane and his men.
This run started with a 4-0 win over Eibar which came just three days after their defeat to Wolfsburg. Real have won 26 of the 35 games with Cristiano Ronaldo being the major contributor with 21 goals in this period. To break Beenhaker's record last night without half of the first team in the starting lineup makes it even sweeter for Real Madrid supporters.
