For the first time so far this season, Luka modric He did not participate for a minute in a Real Madrid game. The Croatian midfielder, present in the 20 previous matches of the white team this season (14 in the League and 6 in Champions, 16 of them as a starter), said enough in the clash against Eibar last day and fell out of the call in the last duel against Granada due to an overload. At 35, the 1,410 minutes that he has squeezed Zidane they have been too much.
Weeks ago Luka modric had recovered his best level and was one of the key players in Madrid's most decisive week of the entire campaign, with vital wins against Seville (0-1), Borussia Monchengladbach (2-0) and Atlético de Madrid (2-0) when Zidane's box looked dangerously into the abyss.
Against the demanding Granada, Madrid was examined without its headlight in the middle and, despite the victory (the sixth in a row) it cannot be said that the game was a bed of roses. Without Modric It was difficult for Madrid to govern the game from the ball, it left much more space between the lines that the Nasrid team knew how to take advantage of and several important pieces lowered their level several whole without the Croatian nearby, in the event of Varane, Luke, Casemiro, Benzema or Kroos. The German midfielder was left as the only generator of Madrid's game and that facilitated the defensive work of Granada, which barely let him play. The former Bayern player lost 15 balls and 'only' gave 74 passes in 90 minutes, far from the more than 90 he usually averages when he matches Modric in the engine room.
With Valverde instead of Modric, Madrid lost control and dominance of the stage, which allowed the Pomegranate apply his game plan better than the whites, trusting to the inspiration of Asensio and of Benzema, who stepped forward in the second half.
Once again it was evident that the Madrid suffers without Modric, a footballer who ends his contract in June 2021 and who in just six days could negotiate with any other club.