At this point of time, Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane are thinking about shrugging off the inconsistency and get back into the winning momentum and win more matches as much as possible amid the injury worries and hectic schedule. After the contest against Huesca came the Getafe one and a win was needed to keep the possibilities and hope to tick – the points did not slip.
Second-half goals from Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory over Getafe at the Estadio Alfredo di Stefano.
Zinedine Zidane made two changes to the side that saw off Huesca last weekend. Teenager Marvin Park was handed his first start for Los Blancos in place of the suspended Toni Kroos, while Marcelo came in for the injured Alvaro Odriozola.
Zidane decided to go with a 3-4-3 formation - Nacho Fernandez, Raphael Varane and Ferland Mendy playing as the three defenders, while youngster Marvin Park and veteran Marcelo slotted into midfield along with Casemiro and Luka Modric.
Early on, Modric curled a beautiful free-kick into the area that then fell for Casemiro, only for the Brazilian to shoot it skyward. That was followed later by a Benzema header off a corner kick that grazed the top off the crossbar and out.
Real Madrid were comfortably in control and penetrating deep into the Getafe half, but lacked the cutting edge.
The best chance of the first 45 minutes came on a break with Marcelo feeding Modric, whose shot was deflected away wide by Getafe goalkeeper David Soria.
After the break, the heavens opened and rain started to pour.
The slippery surface hampered the pace, but not the intensity.
Asensio found Benzema wide open on the right, but Soria managed to parry wide the shot.
Sergio Arribas come on for fellow Castilla player Marvin, but it was another youngster, Vinicius Junior, who set the table for the breakthrough goal.
Karim Benzema rose highest to head home a cross by Vinicius Junior in the 60th minute.
The momentum of the Royal Whites grew further and six minutes later they doubled their advantage to 2-0 with some slick passing from Arribas and Marcelo, with the latter crossing for Mendy, who redirected into net.
That was enough to bag full points.
This victory means they have now won 13 of their last 14 league games against Getafe, with clean sheets, kept in their last five matches consecutively.
Getafe came into this game on a run of three games without a win and did not do too much to halt their winless run. In what was a totally lethargic performance, Los Azulones failed to apply themselves against their illustrious hosts.
But Real Madrid never let the visitors claw back in the game, rather, maintained their authority throughout the game.
Marcelo had a great game.
Injuries afflicting the first team afforded him a rare
start, with the captain's armband handed to him in the absence of Sergio Ramos.
Marcelo proved to be a constant menace down the left flank and put the Getafe backline on their toes with his bombarding runs forward. He made a game-high five key passes, provided an assist for Ferland Mendy, and completed one dribble in what was a breathtaking display before making way for Victor Chust in the 86th minute.
Ferland Mendy played in a new position as well - on the left of a back three - and he put in a good performance. He had some heart-stopping moments at the back, but stepped to stretch the lead.
Vinicius Junior finally saw himself as a winger. He's not used to playing there, and it took him a few minutes to adjust to the role. Just as it looked like he was going to come off, he provided the wonderful assist and hinted, he needs more playing time to gain confidence and rhythm.
Most importantly, Casemiro took control in the absence of Ramos - Played further forward than usual as Getafe hardly ventured forward.
Atletico Madrid have installed themselves as runaway leaders
in La Liga but this win helped Real Madrid close the deficit on their city
rivals.
Los Colchoneros had dropped points at the death in a 2-2
draw at home to Celta Vigo, and this saw them lose the opportunity to go 10
points clear at the summit.
Real Madrid had a chance to temporarily close the gap to five points and they did so.
Note: This article has been posted at Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 11/02/2021 Real Madrid closing the gap with Atletico Madrid
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