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Real Madrid edged out Levante 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The away side started brightly but fizzled away quite briskly as Real Madrid grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck in the 25th minute. Karim Benzema popped up in the penalty area and headed home Dani Carvajal’s cross.
A few minutes later, the Frenchman doubled the hosts’ lead when he slotted James Rodriguez’s pass past Aitor Fernandez.
In the 40th minute, Casemiro made the net bulge again to ensure Real Madrid went into the break with a three-goal lead.
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However, Levante hit back instantly after the restart, courtesy Borja Mayoral. Though the home side had a plethora of chances to add to their tally, they failed to do so, thereby allowing the visitors a route back into the game.
Levante capitalised on a free-kick in the 75th minute when Gonzalo Melero put the ball into the back of the net.
The Los Blancos endured a few nervy moments towards the end but saw off the away side’s threat, enabling the hosts to move up to second in La Liga.
Here is a look at the talking points from the game:
#1 Real Madrid obliterate Levante in the first half
Real Madrid started the game with five points in their kitty from their opening three games. Thus, Los Blancos were under pressure to turn their fortunes around. And they did so emphatically in the first half.
Though Levante looked confident in the early exchanges, the hosts quickly imposed themselves on the game. Zinedine Zidane’s men fizzed the ball across the slick surface with purpose and started plugging away at the away side’s defence.
The breakthrough came about in the 25th minute when Benzema’s perfectly-timed run dovetailed with Carvajal’s left-footed cross. The Frenchman rose high in the box and nodded past the Levante goalkeeper.
The striker bagged his second six minutes later after he challenged for a long ball with the Levante centre-backs. The knock-down fell for James Rodriguez who slipped in an exquisite through-ball. Benzema made no mistake, rippling the net with a controlled finish.
Towards the end of the half, Real Madrid tripled their advantage when Casemiro ran the length of the pitch to find himself on the end of Vinicius’ cross from the right flank.
Apart from the goals, Los Blancos pressed high up the pitch, hassling and harrying the Levante defenders and midfielders whenever they had the ball.
Moreover, the hosts’ offensive movements caused several problems for the visitors, especially with Benzema’s propensity to drop deep opening up spaces in other areas of the pitch.
Over the past twelve months, Real Madrid have often been guilty of turning in lackadaisical and listless performances, meaning that they’ve irked the Bernabeu faithful in addition to not notching up favourable results.
However, on Saturday afternoon, they produced arguably their best first half display since the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
Most importantly though, Los Blancos’ players enjoyed themselves in the opening 45 minutes, hinting that things might not be that pear-shaped, after all.
#2 Karim Benzema has a stunning game
Karim Benzema has been one of Real Madrid’s stand-out performers over the past few months, courtesy a string of goals and dominant displays. Inevitably, in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era, the goal-scoring mantle has fallen on the Frenchman's shoulders and he has stood up admirably.
Against Levante, Benzema was irresistible at times. The striker dragged the visitors’ defenders into uncomfortable areas and that led to the creation of several opportunities.
Though Vinicius couldn’t really apply the finishing touches to those moves, the inter-play between the Frenchman and the Brazilian was quite encouraging.
Additionally, Benzema worked hard for his team and pressed high up the pitch. The tactic allowed the hosts to wrestle away control from Levante, resulting in a three-goal salvo in the first half, which included two goals for the Frenchman.
The forward also struck the bar once in the second period when he twisted and turned outside the penalty box. After making a yard for himself to shoot, he curled a sumptuous right-footed shot, only to see it come back off the base of the post.
Over the years, not many have appreciated the qualities Benzema brings to the table, with numerous fans criticising him for an inferior goal-scoring record as compared to his peers.
However, the Frenchman brings much more to the table than just goals. He is an extremely vital cog of Zidane’s wheel at Madrid and if he fires on all cylinders throughout the term, Los Blancos could just challenge for top honours again.
#3 Levante learn from their first-half mistakes
Levante started the game on the front foot and looked to take the attack to the home side. However, minutes into the match, they began retreating, due to a combination of Real Madrid’s burgeoning stature in the encounter and the visitors’ decision to take a step back.
Thus, in the first quarter of the game, Levante had somehow managed to impress everyone with their bravery while they also left several perplexed when they adopted a different approach.
Unsurprisingly, they went a goal down as they surrendered the head of steam generated in the opening few minutes.
Thereafter, they contrived to concede two more as they went into the break staring at a three-goal deficit.
However, after the restart, Levante showcased the intent they had portrayed earlier in the game, meaning they established more of a foothold.
Subsequently, they pulled a goal back through Borja four minutes into the second period.
In sync with the aforementioned brand of football, they carved out a few other chances for themselves and eventually halved the arrears in the 75th minute.
Moreover, they could’ve salvaged a point had they finished off a set-piece in the dying minutes of the game.
A match that started so promisingly for Levante ultimately left them empty-handed. And while Real Madrid were quite brilliant during the first period, the away side, in light of their circumspect approach, provided the hosts with the ideal platform to surge ahead.
#4 James Rodriguez could be the missing piece in the Madrid puzzle
In the past couple of seasons, James Rodriguez plied his trade at Bayern Munich as Zinedine Zidane was seemingly hell-bent on seeing the back of the Colombian. In keeping with that mindset, the midfielder was listed for a transfer during the 2019 off-season and a move to Napoli looked just a signature away.
Yet, nothing of the sort materialised and Madrid eventually pulled the plug on the deal owing to their lengthy injury list.
Inevitably, the number of absences meant that James got another chance to showcase his talent and prove to the French manager that he could have a future in the Spanish capital, despite everything that had transpired previously.
And, on Saturday, he certainly strengthened his credentials for a permanent starting spot.
Featuring as a central midfielder alongside Casemiro and Toni Kroos, Rodriguez ran the show from the centre of the park.
The Colombian looked lively throughout and conjured a sensational assist for Karim Benzema in the first half.
Apart from setting up the Frenchman, the midfielder got into the half-zones between the centre backs and the full backs, thereby always creating a situation of numerical superiority in that area of the pitch.
However, the most impressive aspect of his performance was the hard yards he put in defensively. Often maligned for his propensity to drift out of games, James threw himself about in the middle third and never allowed his Levante counterparts a moment’s peace on the ball.
A few years ago, when Real Madrid were the conquerors of Europe, they functioned with a 4-4-2 system as Isco played slightly further forward than the rest of the midfielders. In essence, the formation bore a 4-3-1-2 shape with Benzema and Ronaldo up top.
Thus, with the arrival of Eden Hazard and Luka Jovic, Los Blancos could revert to their winning formula. And, considering Isco’s recent woes, Rodriguez could fill the void.
Ironically, the player that Zidane wanted to ship out might just end up being the glue that keeps the side together.
#5 A few of Real Madrid’s ailments are cured but the rest remain
Real Madrid endured a terrible 2018-19 season. A sluggish start to the term was compounded by a managerial change after an El Clasico thrashing and everything fell off a cliff after the replacement manager was also sacked.
Zinedine Zidane was installed at the helm for the final stretch and he was handed an enormous transfer purse in the summer to mould the side as per his wishes.
Unsurprisingly, he splashed the cash and brought on board Eden Hazard, Eder Militao, Ferland Mendy, Luka Jovic and Rodrygo.
Those changes meant that Los Blancos had acquired several offensive players capable of providing a spark.
A few of those featured against Levante, with Hazard in particular setting the Santiago Bernabeu ablaze in his brief stint as a substitute.
Moreover, the attack, which was accused of lacking a cutting edge last term, showed plenty of it in key areas, thereby allowing Los Blancos to create a host of openings.
Yet, despite the flamboyant signings, the questions over their defence still remained and on Saturday, it became clear that a remedy hadn’t been arrived at.
In the second half, the hosts were nearly pegged back as they left loads of spaces at the back for Levante to exploit.
Marcelo played high up the pitch and wide, meaning that Madrid were susceptible to swift counter-attacks.
Also, the withdrawal of Casemiro cast Kroos into the holding midfielder role. And while the German is an exceptional footballer, he most certainly isn’t a defensive-minded player.
Thus, the ailments that plagued Los Blancos at the end of the 2018-19 season reared its ugly head, again.
And, for all the attacking prowess Real Madrid possess, they could yet come unstuck this term, especially if they fail to rectify the defensive chinks existing in their armour.
