Villarreal eleven Real Madrid (Moreno; Mariano). Here is our quick reaction. Still to come: player ratings, post-game podcasts, post-game quotes, tactical stuff, and much more.
Real Madrid was decimated with muscle injuries and positive tests for COVID-19 in the face of this. They entered the Estadio Cerámica injured, failing two of their captains, and specifically, their best defense and best scorer.
With what Zinedine Zidane had left, the line-up recovered, although there were two positions with variation. Eden Hazard would occupy an attack space. There were two left, which would finally go to Mariano Díaz and Lucas Vázquez. Vázquez provided breadth in transition and defensive coverage; while Mariano was a key target. They both combined for the opening goal in the second minute:
Zidane’s trio of midfielders of Martin Odegaard, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric worked consistently in preparing the team. Kroos played several dagger balls in the first half and was the key dictator in midfield. He and Modric often got into a double pivot, while Odegaard appeared as an outlet to help advance the ball before moving into space. Although that midfield is designed to push and control, the team was not aggressive in their pressure and was happy to choose their spots. They opted for less possession and emphasized quick diagonal changes.
Unai Emery somehow mirrored Zidane’s form, and Villarreal were happy to come and go with Real. But one thing they failed to do was take advantage of the space behind Real Madrid’s midfield. Real’s press was loose, disjointed at times, and vertically vulnerable. Manu Trigueros made several runs, without being detected, towards the area, which Villarreal did not select. Eden Hazard played close, without much follow-up, as his role was to be the starter at the counter.
However, Villarreal woke up in the second half. Perhaps that was expected, given that they had almost a full squad available and the Real Madrid squad was destroyed. Emery’s men began to find a space in the transition. The legs of Real Madrid went out the window. When Zidane brought in new Isco and Vinicius Jr for Hazard and Odegaard, the team simply couldn’t control the ball. Villarreal marked their press and forced draws. Parejo missed two good chances in this game, one of them in the second half amid a wave of attacks. Both Nacho and Varane were put to the sword again and again, forced to carry out great defensive interventions.
Emery also made two game-altering subs. Samu Chukweze and Pervis Esutpińan entered the game and immediately injected style and broke the line. Samu’s run in mid-space earned Villarreal a penalty:
Real Madrid had an absolutely brutal second half and escaped with a draw. We’ll break this down a lot more in the next few hours. Tonight’s post-game show will appear on the free rss feed.
