Real Madrid currently have better passing accuracy than Barcelona

Could some credit of this nefound passing go to the new boss Rafael Benitez?

An Opta statistic relayed via Goal revealed that Real Madrid this season have shown a passing accuracy of 87.25% so far as compared to Barca’s 82.54%. It wouldn’t usually be worth highlighting, but it’s the first time in 10 years that the team from Madrid have surpassed their Catalan rivals in this area, that is arguably their stronghold traditionally.

Barcelona as a club have a strong philosophy and a major part of their approach is focussed around their passing. They have dominated not only possession but passing accuracy statistics for a long time owing to the immense talent and style they employ in midfield.

The last time Real Madrid displayed a better record than their rivals in passing accuracy was way back in the 2005-06 season. However, it’s still early days in La Liga and Barcelona are lacking their top personnel in all areas of the pitch.

Rafael Benitez’s side are currently top of the Spanish League standings although both they and Barcelona are level on points. The Blaugrana have been leaking goals making their goal difference the worse of the two and it means that Real Madrid, who have run a tight shift under the new manager and have conceded only thrice so far now have the initiative in that area as well.

Los Blancos are one of the only 2 sides remaining in Europe that are unbeaten this season, the other being a team they recently faced – Paris Saint-Germain. They have drawn a couple of games resulting in points lost that they usually would have wrapped up with ease.

Most frustrating of all perhaps was their draw on opening day of the league, but they must be happy with their position on the table, only needing to open up a gap between them and their closest followers.

The action from last weekend saw both sides beating their opponents. Luis Enrique, however, remains a man with a lot on his mind because of the missing personnel from his roster. The treble-winners from last season now have the likes of Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta missing from the team due to injury. Adding to their woes is Mascherano's sending off in the last game against Eibar.

Real have faced their own issues with problems for Bale and James Rodriguez, but they will gladly welcome back Luka Modric into the fray after having lost him to an early injury.