Today Wu Lei is a legend for each and every fan of Real
Madrid. His late-equalizer against the reigning champions Barcelona helped
Espanyol to share points and for which Real Madrid are at the same platform
with their arch-rivals – 40 pints each, a scenario, which is ideal for Zinedine
Zidane to unleash his true charisma. He relishes such critical junctures during
any competitions. It helps him to bring the best out of his men.
Before Espanyol shocked Barcelona, where Frenkie de Jong was
shown a red card as well, the Los Blancos faced Getafe to kick-off their new
year. The Los Blancos drew three straight league matches prior to the break,
including back-to-back games without scoring and in that sense, bagging full points
was much needed - they broke the jinx in the end.
Thibaut Courtois has been a subject of trolling since he
arrived in Santiago Bernabeu. Even before he arrived in Real, Courtois was a
legend, but at Madrid, his journey has not been chummy until recently he has
started to rediscover his mojo – 13 clean-sheets from last 18 matches. On
Saturday, he was involved in three world-class saves to save Real’s blushes.
Real Madrid ended their goal-drought run in a pretty bizarre
way - David Soria helped the ball into his own net under pressure from Varane.
It was an own goal! The own goal undermined Getafe’s fighting display in the
first half. Without a doubt, they were far better than the visitors as they
continued to press and test the Real backline. The rhythm of Real was hampered
and could hardly get out of their own half.
After the first half, Raphael Varane headed Real to give a
two-goal advantage. Toni Kroos kicked one from the flank, which curled sharply
to land straight into the area where Varane was ready to win the aerial battle.
He headed and scored. It required a VAR-checking to confirm the lead and Getafe
lost their tempo as the match progressed.
Still, Real’s midfield lacked spark. Casemiro, Toni Kroos,
and Luka Modric experienced a tough day as more often the Getafe players ran
through them. Zidane brought on Fede Valverde and Vinicius Junior with twenty
minutes of play remaining to inject a bit more rhythm. Vini kept the flank busy
with his dribbling and pace, while Valverde, yet again, stepped up to marshall
the midfield.
Still, Getafe kept in searching for goals, but what Getafe
lacked was players who could gift moments of individual brilliance.
Modric – average display until the stoppage time in second
half where he unleashed a strong and bursting run down the right flank from
Valverde who unselfishly passed the ball to Modric. It was a brilliant finish
as Real won by 3-0. The scoreline might mask the average display, but also it
conveys the message, you buy big names to produce productive moments on a dull
day.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 05/01/2020 Real Madrid start the New Year by bagging full points
Thank You
Faisal Caesar
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