A STRENGTHENED DEFENCE IS AN ASSET |
| RAMOS AND PEPE |
Life without him was hard as Madrid went through several thrashing. 4-0, 4-3, 1-1, 1-0, all of those were nightmares for the club and fans.
The return of Sergio Ramos bought a light of life among the defenders. Centre-back Pepe played his best match of the year and Ramos was, of course, instrumental in keeping the opponents at bay.
The two full-backs, were also great in Real Madrid's win.
This shows that the defensive woes have finally cheered up and they have found the perfect coordination between them when on field. They are alert, quick in passing and is able to communicate in the field from one end of to the other with the ball. This has also resulted in a number of influential crosses during the match.
Asier Illaramendi was named as Xabi Alonso's new heir. But that is not so. It is rather Lucas Silva. The young Brazilian has turned into a controller and has been effective as a last man for Carlo Ancelotti.
Lucas Silva was bought at the Winter Transfer and has since started in 6 out of possible 9 games.
He can be considered as the "Fifth Man" or the Last Man in the squad. Lucas Silva has done a number of tackles and passes in a short period of time and is influencing like Xabi Alonso did.
He is also very effective in attacking ways and coordinates well with the other midfielders. Lucas Silva was also more confident then others during his debut.
This growing popularity of Lucas Silva would be a way for him to start in the Clasico and strengthen the defence.
A PERFECT DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDER |
| LUCAS SILVA VS LEVANTE |
Lucas Silva was bought at the Winter Transfer and has since started in 6 out of possible 9 games.
He can be considered as the "Fifth Man" or the Last Man in the squad. Lucas Silva has done a number of tackles and passes in a short period of time and is influencing like Xabi Alonso did.
He is also very effective in attacking ways and coordinates well with the other midfielders. Lucas Silva was also more confident then others during his debut.
This growing popularity of Lucas Silva would be a way for him to start in the Clasico and strengthen the defence.
MIDFIELDERS COULD PROVE CRUCIAL |
| KROOS AND MODRIC |
Around 90% of Madrid's possession and control of the game lies between the midfielders. Real Madrid are a team that consists of 8 or 9 midfielders.
They are the asset of the squad and is responsible for the attacks and at times rescues them from opponents. Isco, Modric, Kroos and Lucas Silva make the perfect midfield package.
Kroos has been highly effective throughout the season with the most assists and passes in the team. Isco is the best player in the year so far, and Lucas Silva is the new Xabi Alonso.
Luka Modric is the most influential player in the whole team.
With Isco, Kroos and Modric in the attacking line and Silva at the defensive line, Madrid seemed to be unstoppable.
Surely, the midfield is the most important factor which affects Madrid. And with Modric's return they all seemed to gear up. This was a result of 2-0 win against Levante in which more than 95% passes came from the opponent half along with 22 shots.
Real Madrid's attacking trio : Bale, Benzema and Cristiano has geared up from their recent slump. The attacking trio was out of favor for the Real fans and was booed by them.
However, they scored all the six goals in the month with Ronaldo three, Bale two and Benzema one. Though they never produced a great performance in recent weeks, the three were highly responsible for Real's win against Levante.
Real Madrid created 22 chances with 15 from BBC and the rest from the entire squad. They also hit two crossbars, an offside goal and both the goals.
Gareth Bale was criticized for the past two months. However, the Welshman silenced critics with a spectacular display against Levante, netting both the goals. He showed his anger by kicking the corner flag after the first goal.
Benzema, on the other side, showed quality and was quick in reacting with the others. The striker had the closest chance in the night hitting a perfect cross at the crossbar with a back flip. Had it been a goal, it would remain as one of the greatest La Liga goal of all time. Morever, he performed way better then in recent weeks.
If anyone deserved goals against Levante other than Bale, it was Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugese was frustrated, not due to his performance, but due to his unluckiness. This might be his best month in the year so far, with good performances against Villareal and a savior against Schalke with two fantastic headers.
Last night, Ronaldo had the first real chance, hitting a well controlled ball at the crossbar. The first goal was actually Ronaldo's, but the referee and the linesman hadn't a good look at it. Benzema tucked a cross for Cristiano, who attempted a bicycle kick which was cleared inside the goal line by a defender, only for Bale to smash home. The second goal was actually Ronaldo's. Modric freekick resulted in Carvajal assisting Ronaldo, who smashed a low shot into the goal which deflected off Bale's foot.
The performance against Levante had surely opened the eyes of the final three and expectations are indeed high for them when they are against Luis Enrique's men.
Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos returned into action together for the first time in three months against Levante.
The duo who was missed for three months and five weeks respectively, played together to display the greatest first 45 minutes for Real Madrid this whole season. Real created around 13 clear chances, including two goals, a crossbar and several other chances.
The defense was strengthened, the midfield became steady and the useless passing between the ends was finally stopped after their return. The match was something Madrid missed since last November 14.
However, all those things that proved crucial occurred in a single game: Real Madrid vs Levante. Though there were only two goals, that wont tell the whole story of the game.
The match would remain as a threat for Barcelona whom they will meet next week and will also silence the critics and boos that each and every member of the squad experienced in recent weeks from the fans.
LEVANTE MATCH PROVED THAT BBC ARE BACK IN FORM |
| BALE, BENZEMA, CRISTIANO |
However, they scored all the six goals in the month with Ronaldo three, Bale two and Benzema one. Though they never produced a great performance in recent weeks, the three were highly responsible for Real's win against Levante.
Real Madrid created 22 chances with 15 from BBC and the rest from the entire squad. They also hit two crossbars, an offside goal and both the goals.
Gareth Bale was criticized for the past two months. However, the Welshman silenced critics with a spectacular display against Levante, netting both the goals. He showed his anger by kicking the corner flag after the first goal.
Benzema, on the other side, showed quality and was quick in reacting with the others. The striker had the closest chance in the night hitting a perfect cross at the crossbar with a back flip. Had it been a goal, it would remain as one of the greatest La Liga goal of all time. Morever, he performed way better then in recent weeks.
If anyone deserved goals against Levante other than Bale, it was Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portugese was frustrated, not due to his performance, but due to his unluckiness. This might be his best month in the year so far, with good performances against Villareal and a savior against Schalke with two fantastic headers.
Last night, Ronaldo had the first real chance, hitting a well controlled ball at the crossbar. The first goal was actually Ronaldo's, but the referee and the linesman hadn't a good look at it. Benzema tucked a cross for Cristiano, who attempted a bicycle kick which was cleared inside the goal line by a defender, only for Bale to smash home. The second goal was actually Ronaldo's. Modric freekick resulted in Carvajal assisting Ronaldo, who smashed a low shot into the goal which deflected off Bale's foot.
The performance against Levante had surely opened the eyes of the final three and expectations are indeed high for them when they are against Luis Enrique's men.
THE RETURN OF RAMOS AND LUKA MODRIC |
| RAMOS AND LUKA VS BASEL |
The duo who was missed for three months and five weeks respectively, played together to display the greatest first 45 minutes for Real Madrid this whole season. Real created around 13 clear chances, including two goals, a crossbar and several other chances.
The defense was strengthened, the midfield became steady and the useless passing between the ends was finally stopped after their return. The match was something Madrid missed since last November 14.
However, all those things that proved crucial occurred in a single game: Real Madrid vs Levante. Though there were only two goals, that wont tell the whole story of the game.
The match would remain as a threat for Barcelona whom they will meet next week and will also silence the critics and boos that each and every member of the squad experienced in recent weeks from the fans.