It was much fun at the Bernabeu early today as Real Madrid produced one of the best first half performances we have seen in recent years.
All eyes were keen on catching sight of the eleven Coach Zinedine Zidane will roll out for this encounter after watching his team terribly plagued by injuries this season. The French Coach opted for a 4-2-3-1 formation which featured Thubiat Courtois in between the sticks, Sergio Ramos partnering Raphael Varane in central defence while Marcelo Viera and Dani Carvajal retained their left and right back spots respectively.
Toni Kroos, Casemiro and James Rodrigues covered the three man midfield while Vinicius Junior and Lucas Vasquez both flanked Karim Benzema.
The odds were slightly in favor of Real Madrid in this one based on their superiority on paper after Zidane published his squad list with just two central midfielders. It was pretty much assumed Real Madrid would struggle to defend more than they can create and considering the team’s weak attacking statistics, it is safe to assume they will struggle to win this one. However, those words were put to bed after watching them dismantle Levante in the first half. It all started with a Carvajal left footed cross from the edge of the box for Karim Benzema to prod home with his head and that goal opened the floodgates. Real Madrid would go on to make it two through Benzema after James Rodriguez laid out a pass to him. Vinicius Junior would later provide the assist for Casemiro to make it three and it remained that way till half time.
The second half saw the typical Real Madrid we are accustomed to seeing. A lackadaisical defensive approach will see former striker Borja Mayoral reduce the deficit for Levante and Carvajal who endured a horrible second half would be outmuscled by Melero for Levante’s second. With Hazard making his debut from the 60th minute, Real Madrid created series of chances begging to be converted but remained wasteful and were lucky to have escaped with a 3-2 win.
I will be breaking down the match happenings which includes player analysis in coming days, stay tuned and thanks for reading.